Pretty Dark
by WritingHealstheHeart
Summary: Emily realizes that she's in love with Spencer, but he's found someone else. Someone who is holding an awful secret and has been torturing Spencer.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys! As requested, here is a new Spencer and Emily story. I'm not sure exactly where I'm going with this, but I have some ideas. Sometimes I surprise myself with what I come up with haha._

 _As always, comments are loved!_

 _(xxxxx)_

It had been there for years. In the beginning, he was just a nerdy co-worker that she learned to care for. He was quiet, but brilliant. He was shy and awkward. There was no love at first sight. It was just two co-workers who found solace in each other's company.

As the years went by, Spencer Reid began to grow into his gawkiness. He began to age not only in typical numbers, but in looks as well. His baby face features started to gradually change from adorable to dare she use the word sexy?

His timid behavior began to disappear as his confidence grew. He took the lead in cases more often, he gave theories with more assurance, and he even dabbled in being the muscles, though nowhere near Morgan's level.

It was safe to say that after 10 years of knowing Spencer Reid, Emily Prentiss had fallen deeply for him in a way she had never expected. It started out as small moments that gave her butterflies. Small things like a smile he gave her while pouring his coffee or the way he bit his lip when thinking about something. She loved the way he scrunched his nose when it itched, rather than use his hand like most people. She loved the mole that sat near his right ear. She often envisioned herself placing small kisses on it.

Of course, nobody knew about this. Emily was fantastic at hiding her feelings. Compartmentalizing, as the team loved to call it. She was kind of proud of the fact she was able to control her emotions around him and not even a team of profilers had figured it out.

She was really good at hiding those feelings, until one awful day something completely unexpected happened. It was a hot August morning. Emily dragged herself into the office and placed her bag down on the desk. Strangely, Spencer had not arrived. That was unusual as he was usually the second person to arrive to work, Hotch almost always being the first.

Emily glanced at her watch, but decided to not read into it. It wasn't like he was late, he just wasn't early. She sat down at her desk and pulled out yesterday's files she hadn't finished, when J.J. interrupted her thoughts.

"No Spence?" she asked.

Emily spun around to face her. "Haven't seen him yet. Hope he's ok," she said casually, even though her mind was racing with concern.

Morgan arrived with Penelope in tow, and shortly after new comer Luke Alvez also arrived. Still no sign of Spencer.

"Should we call him?" Derek asked.

With that the sound of the glass door being pushed open caught their attention. A breathless Spencer was running to his desk. Hair a mess, bag bouncing around his shoulder, and a to-go coffee cup in his hand.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. Rough morning, pretty boy?" Derek teased.

Spencer shot him an exasperated look. He dropped his bag on the floor and sat down in his chair, still breathing heavily.

"Starbucks?" Luke said, pointing to Spencer's cup.

Spencer looked at his cup and tried to hide it behind his row of books. J.J. moved over to his desk and glared at him.

"You don't do morning coffee runs," she said eyeing him out.

"I had a gift card," Spencer said quickly, trying to avoid the topic.

"Who gave you a gift card?" Derek quizzed.

"Uh, my neighbor," he replied.

"Why? It's not your birthday," Luke said trying to hold back his grin.

"Because I helped her with some legal paperwork," he stated as he tried to avoid their eye contact.

"What sort of legal paperwork?" Derek pressed.

"Excuse me," a voice said shyly behind Derek.

He turned to find a young woman, with blazing blue eyes and dark brown hair that reached to the middle of her back, looking at them. Her gray dress pants fit her slim body perfectly, her pink dress tank was flattering, but professional. She was absolutely stunning.

"Can we help you?" Derek asked kindly.

"Actually," she peered around him at Spencer, who was bright red. "Spencer, I'm sorry to bother you, but you left your cell phone on the table. I know it's important," she said handing him the phone.

"Thank you," he said taking it from her.

She looked at him as if waiting for more, while the rest of the team stared in stunned silence.

"Come on, I'll walk you out," Spencer said as he walked over to her.

She nodded and gave a polite wave to the group before walking out of the bullpen with Spencer. Once they were through the glass doors, Derek gave a loud laugh.

"Holy shit! Did our boy just score himself a girl?" He said turning back to the group.

Emily tuned out the rest of the conversation. Her heart had dropped somewhere deep into her stomach, making her feel sick. Spencer had a girlfriend? And his girlfriend was the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen. There was no way she could compete with that! She suddenly felt old and used up. She got up from her chair and started to walk away.

"Prentiss, you ok?" Derek said, breaking her trance.

"Oh, yea. Women troubles," she said placing her hand on her abdomen.

"Gross," Derek said before turning back to talk to J.J. and Luke.

As Emily rounded the corner to the bathroom, she stopped to spy on Spencer and the mystery girl. He was looking at her shyly as she reached out to tuck a piece of his messy curls behind his ear. Emily's heart raced with jealousy.

Then the girl gently ran her hand along Spencer's cheek and he smiled at her. She was saying something to him and he nodded in agreement. The elevator door opened and before she stepped on it, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Spencer blushed and Emily felt like throwing up. She ran to the bathroom to quickly empty the contents of her breakfast.

(xxxxx)

For the next two weeks, Emily tried hard to hide her jealousy and disgust at Spencer's new girlfriend, but she was failing miserably. Thankfully for the first week, she was able to chalk her attitude up to PMS. The second week, she had developed a terrible cold, so she hid behind that mask.

By the third week, she still couldn't stomach Derek and Luke asking Spencer questions about the girl whose name turned out to be Lacy. _Lacy? Sounded like a stripper name_ , Emily thought. But in truth, Emily was terribly jealous of not only Lacy's relationship with Spencer, she was also jealous of her modelesque looks.

On the way home from a case, Emily stared out the jet window, mentally degrading herself, when she heard someone sit next to her. She jumped, a bit startled, and looked to see Spencer eyeing her out.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey," she said, flashing him a small smile.

"You ok?" he asked her, concern in his eyes.

She smiled, fakely, at him again and nodded. "Yea, just really tired."

Spencer licked his lips. She hated when he did that. She wanted to feel his tongue on her lips. On her body. She wanted to know what he tasted like and every time he licked his lips, it sent a shiver down her spine.

"You sure?" he said staring deeply at her.

Spencer and Emily always had a strong friendship. He had a special friendship with everyone really. Derek was his big brother, J.J. was his little sister, Rossi was like his surrogate father, Hotch his mentor, Penelope was his nurse – she'd aid him when he was down, and Luke had become the male friend he always wanted – a guy's guy, not some nerd like Spencer.

But Emily – well, with Emily it was different. Emily was his best friend and yet that word wasn't enough to describe the connection they had. They were always able to be 100% honest with each other, sometimes even telling each other things without using words. They could always sense when the other one was in trouble and needed something. He never could quite figure out what Emily was to him, but she was beyond special.

"Spence, I'm ok. I promise," she lied, but he seemed to accept it.

The rest of the flight was uneventful. When the plane landed, some of the team decided to go out on the town and unwind. The bar they chose was pretty small, but still left room for dancing, a dart board, and a pool table. They ordered their drinks and settled in for a relaxing evening. Emily and Spencer were deep in conversation regarding Solaris, when he suddenly stopped mid-sentence and left the table.

Emily followed him with her eyes to the entrance, where to her complete dismay, Lacy jumped into Spencer's arms. He held her tightly in his arms before placing a kiss to her lips. Emily tipped her drink back, finishing hers off, before wandering over to the bar to order more.

(xxxxx)

A couple hours later, everyone had found someone to "play" with. Luke was trying to teach Penelope how to play pool. The two of them flirting it up the entire time. Derek was on the dance floor with his girlfriend Savannah, J.J. was playing darts with Will, Spencer, and Lacy. Every time either of them did well throwing the darts, they'd laugh and embrace one another. The PDA was making her sicker by the moment.

Emily pretended to be interested in … whatever the hell his name was … story, but she found herself continually drifting in and out of thought. She could take Lacy. One good kick and she'd have her flat on the ground. Emily could snap her in half like a twig.

Maybe that's what was wrong with her. Perhaps she wasn't girly enough. She looked down at her black jeans and black button up. She had to dress that way for work, but now that she thought about it, she dressed that way outside of work more and more. What happened to the days when she wore sexy, revealing clothes. She glanced at her boots and frowned. When was the last time she wore heels?

Emily looked at the mini jean skirt that Lacy wore, with the tight pink tank top. Her hair done in a messy bun and her strong calves accentuated by the black heels she wore. She stood in front of Spencer and he placed his hands on her waist and leaned his head on her shoulder. Emily pictured him doing that with her. She felt his hands running down her sides and up the skirt she would wear for him.

He would shyly give her a look requesting permission. She'd nod and he would slide his hand underneath the skirt, running his long fingers across her wet underwear. She suddenly felt herself becoming aroused. She lifted her glass and threw it back.

"Hey, you wanna get out of here?" she asked … _damn it what the hell did he say his name was_?

The guy agreed and she grabbed him by the hand, leading him to her car.

(xxxxx)

Outside it was still extremely hot, but Emily didn't care. She needed to get off and quick. She took the man to her car and turned it on as he climbed in the passenger seat.

"Get in the back," she ordered.

The man nodded and climbed into the back seat, lifting off his shirt and starting to undo his pants.

"I've got rules if you want to do this," Emily said as she climbed back there with him. The man nodded as he now sat awkwardly across the back seat of the SUV. "I'm going to call you whatever name I want and you will not correct me. No kissing on the mouth and most importantly, do not say a word! If you speak, I will stop and you will get out of the car, do you understand?"

The man nodded. Emily didn't take off her shirt, but unbuttoned her pants. "I want you to start by getting me off. When I say I'm ready, you slip this condom on and finish the job," she said throwing a packet at him.

Once again, he said nothing. Emily took the silence as agreement and slid out of her panties. The man didn't wait even a moment, before he descended onto her woman hood and began orally trying to please her. At first, Emily just felt frustrated, because she didn't give a shit about this guy. She wanted Spencer, but finally she closed her eyes and pretended that's exactly who this was.

She threaded her fingers through this man's hair, pretending it was Spencer's fluffy mane. She tilted her head back into the window and began to moan as the pressure continued to build up in her. She placed her hands on her covered breasts and rubbed them roughly. She could see Spencer licking at her clit, his perfect lips placing kisses along her core.

"Spencer, fuck," she moaned. "Oh God, that is so good. Keep going baby." She felt herself reaching her orgasm, so she pulled on the shoulders of the man pleasuring her. "Spencer, I need you to fuck me." With that she heard the condom being unwrapped and seconds later she had her arms around the stranger's shoulders.

He pressed into her roughly, making her cry out in a bit of pain. He began slamming into her desperately as she began to scream.

"Use her hand too," she ordered.

She felt the fingers circling her clit as she buried her face into the man's shoulder.

"Yes, Spencer, yes! Right there! Fuck, you are so good Spencer! Harder Spencer, harder!" she found herself screaming. She heard the man groan as he climaxed and she quickly pushed him off. "Get away." She growled as she threw her hand down and rubbed her swollen nub quickly. Within moments, she had reached her orgasm on her own and let out a sigh. The two of them sat in silence for a few, before Emily grabbed her clothes and began to redress.

She climbed back into the front seat, but stopped the man from following her.

"You can go now," she said as she stared at the fog on her car window and unlocked the car doors.

"If you ever need me to be Spencer again," the man started.

"Get the fuck out of my car," Emily snapped.

The man obeyed and slammed the door shut. Emily waited a few more moments as she swallowed down the disgust she felt for herself, before opening the car door. She jumped in surprise when she saw J.J. standing nearby looking at her.

"Jayje, you scared me," she said trying to laugh it off.

"I came to see if you were ok. You disappeared so quickly," J.J. said.

Emily wondered how long she'd been standing there.

"Uh, yea, I'm good. Just needed a moment," she said as she tried to read J.J.'s body language.

"Who was that guy?" J.J. asked, looking in the direction of the man going back inside the bar.

"Oh, him? Just a guy I met," Emily said as if it were nothing.

"Does he have a name?" J.J. asked.

Emily's heart raced. Why did she want to know that? Did she hear her screams?

"Uh, Spencer," she said, deciding to assume J.J. heard her cries.

"His name is Spencer?" J.J. asked raising an eyebrow. "That's a small world isn't it. Not a very popular name."

"Crazy, right?" Emily said pursing her lips.

"Crazy," J.J. repeated.

She knew. Emily knew she knew, but she couldn't let go of the lie.

"Well, I think I'm going to go home. I'm kind of tired," she said making a show of stretching and yawning.

"I'm sure you are," J.J. stated flatly.

"Well, I'll see you Monday," Emily said as she turned to get back in her car.

"Actually, I'll see you tomorrow. It's Hotch's birthday dinner at Rossi's," J.J. said.

"Oh, right. Ok, I'll see you then," Emily said before hoping in her SUV and peeling out of the parking lot.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry for the delay – I didn't have internet for a few days where I was – it was like being a cavewoman! No internet! The horror!_

 _Anyway, I hope you enjoy and thanks always for the comments!_

 _PS – yay for Criminal Minds season 13 renewel!_

 _(xxxxx)_

Emily climbed out of her SUV and nearly fell over. She wasn't used to wearing heels. She straightened herself by leaning on the door. Her short black shorts blew in the warm breeze, her baby blue chiffon tank top accentuating her large breasts that peeked over the top. She walked to backyard, where she was greeted by the sounds of laughter and the smell of Derek grilling steaks and hamburgers.

She tried to walk confidently over to where Derek and Spencer stood talking to one another. They looked up when they saw her approaching and both looked at her with surprise.

"Hot damn, Prentiss you look smokin'," Derek said grinning at her.

Spencer swallowed hard and gave her a shy head nod. This made Emily feel more confident and she shot him a bright smile. She gave Derek a hug first, before he reached out to hug Spencer. He gave her an awkward smile and wrapped his arms around her neck as she placed hers around his waist. They pulled away all too soon for her.

"You look beautiful," Spencer said.

"Thank you. It's just some old thing I …" she was interrupted by a shrill voice.

"Spence, baby, I need you!" Lacy called from the deck.

Emily looked over to see Lacy in a floral romper and wedges. As usual she looked stunning. Her long hair held beach curls that blew in the breeze. She looked like she walked straight out of a magazine. Spencer excused himself and walked off to see what Lacy wanted. Emily stood staring at them with a frown.

"What do you think of her?" Emily asked Derek, who was flipping the burgers.

He followed Emily's gaze. "Lacy? She seems cool. I haven't really gotten to talk to her yet, but she certainly makes pretty boy happy," he replied.

Emily walked off to find something to drink. She needed to unwind. On her way, she stopped to say hi to Penelope, Luke, Will, Rossi and Hotch who were all chatting on the deck. After a few moments, she excused herself and went into the house. When she walked in, she nearly ran into J.J.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Emily apologized.

"Wow, you look … dressed up," J.J. said surveying her outfit.

"No, this … I just found it in my closet. It's old. Haven't worn it in a while," she said trying to play it off.

J.J. looked like she had more to say, but decided to let it go.

"I'm going to get something to drink. I'll meet you outside in a minute," Emily said.

J.J. nodded and went outside, leaving Emily to wander deeper into Rossi's mansion, in search of his wine cellar. As she slowly moved down the stairs, careful not to fall, she heard giggling and stopped to listen.

"Shhhh, Lacy they are going to hear you," Spencer said.

"Oh, don't be such a prude. No one is going to come down here. They are all outside," Lacy said as the distinct sound of a belt being unbuckled rang out.

"Why do we have to do this now? Can't we wait until we get home tonight?" Spencer asked, sounding nervous.

"Don't you want me?" Lacy said. Emily couldn't see her face, but she was sure Lacy was pouting.

"Of course, I do. But … here? Now? What if someone comes down here and catches us?" Spencer replied.

"No one is going to catch us. Just be quick about it," she said. "Please baby."

Emily wanted to gag. This girl was laying the guilt trip on poor Spencer thick.

"Fine, but no sounds. You can't … you know," he said. Emily imagined his cheeks turning pink.

"Moaning, screaming, cursing, I know. Now hurry up," Lacy said.

Emily knew she should leave, but she felt stuck to the floor. She listened to the sound of the man of her dreams kissing someone else and soon the rhythmic sounds of two people having sex. She heard them both gasping and it killed her inside to know that wasn't his body pressed against hers. She slowly turned to leave, when she lost her balance in her heels.

Before she knew it, she'd fallen face first into the stairs and let out a shriek as she rolled down to the second level platform. She shook her head and tried to regain her sight, that was blurry at the moment. There was a ringing in her ears as well, causing her to place both hands over them. As her vision cleared she felt her face turning deep red as she saw Spencer and Lacy leaning over her.

"Emily? Can you hear me?" Spencer's voice began to break through the ringing.

Emily slowly nodded.

"Go get some towels and some ice," Spencer said to Lacy.

Emily could've sworn she saw Lacy glaring at her, but she was too focused on not throwing up at the moment to investigate that further. Emily tried to sit up, but she felt Spencer's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't move," he ordered her. "Can you feel any pain?"

"I'm ok. I just hurt my pride," Emily muttered, making Spencer chuckle. "Am I bleeding?"

Spencer's smile faded and he frowned. "A little. Looks like you got a good size cut on your chin and forehead. Do you feel nauseous or dizzy?"

"Yea a little. Can you do me a favor and maybe not tell anyone about this?" Emily asked.

With that Lacy came trotting down the stairs carrying towels, while Rossi, Luke, Penelope, and J.J. followed closely behind.

"Well, so much for that," Emily said as she shut her eyes against the embarrassment.

(xxxxx)

Emily sat on the couch with ice on her swollen ankle and forehead. She felt so mortified that she had not only been eavesdropping on Spencer's privacy, but fell down the stairs like a child because of her stupid heels. After she was deemed ok to avoid a visit to the hospital, Derek wouldn't let her hear the end of it. Prompting such jokes as "have a nice trip, see you next fall." "Stairs are for going up, not down." "Her pain and embarrassment would eventually heel."

Emily rolled her eyes and fake laughed with him, but inside she felt like she was back in high school. A clumsy loser. As she sat staring at the ceiling, Penelope came over to check on her.

"How are you feeling, sweetness?" she asked sitting on the edge of the couch.

"Like an idiot," Emily responded.

"Oh, silly girl, it's not a big deal. It's just us," Penelope said.

Emily took a deep breath and sighed. Of course, Penelope wouldn't understand. Nobody would understand why this was such a big deal. So as usual, Emily put on a fake smile and giggled.

"Yea, you're right," she lied.

"Of course, I am. Can I get you anything before I leave? How are you getting home?"

"I'm good thanks. I can drive myself," Emily started to say.

"No way. Not with a head injury and a sore right ankle. I'll take you. It's on the way to my place," Spencer said appearing in the room.

"Oh, Reid, that's nice of you. You don't have to do that," Emily said sitting up a bit more on the couch.

"I insist," he said. "I'm going to go get Lacy and we'll be on our way."

"Ok, great," Emily said, trying not to look disgusted by the thought of riding with Lacy.

"You ready?" Luke said walking into the living room.

"Yes, I am ready," Penelope said standing up. "Sure you don't need anything?"

Emily shook her head no and watched as her two friends left together. She wondered if something wasn't blooming between those two. They seemed to be growing more attached at the hip.

(xxxxx)

Derek had helped Emily to the car and offered again to take her home, but Spencer insisted. Once Emily was in the car, she waited quietly for Spencer and Lacy. The passenger side door opened and Lacy climbed in. She shut the door and turned around to look at Emily. Emily gave her a small smile.

"Thanks for the ride," she said.

"Why were you spying on us?" Lacy suddenly said, catching Emily completely off guard.

"Uhh … I'm sorry … what?" Emily stuttered.

"Why were you spying on Spencer and me in the wine cellar?" she clarified.

"I … I wasn't," Emily shook her head as she tried to think of an answer.

"Let's get one thing clear, shall we? I don't take kindly to people trying to take things that are mine. Spencer is mine. I will only tell you that once," Lacy said with veiled threats in her eyes.

Emily's jaw dropped in shock.

"You think I don't see the way you look at him? I'm not stupid Emily and I can promise you I always get what I want. Do not cross me," Lacy said before turning to face Spencer, who just opened the car door.

He slid into his seat and the dominant angry Lacy had disappeared and was replaced again by the sweet, innocent Lacy. She leaned across the seat and pulled Spencer to her mouth, kissing him gently. It was all for show. Emily swallowed hard and looked out the window.

"Ready to go?" she heard Spencer ask.

She didn't answer, she just stared at the window praying for this night to end.

(xxxxx)

The following Friday, the team decided to go out for drinks following a tough work week. Emily ditched the fancy garb and went back to being more herself. She wore tight jeans and a red dress shirt with black boots. She felt a lot more confident dressed this way.

Emily was sitting between Derek and Luke, while Spencer sat across the table from her with Lacy. Emily, Derek, and Luke were having a drink off competition that had them all a bit tipsy.

"There's no way you're going to beat me," Emily said as she threw back another shot.

"Prentiss, I have a high tolerance for liquor," Derek boasted.

"My money is on Emily," Spencer pipped in.

Emily glanced his way and he gave her a smile.

"Thank you, Spencer. See, the genius knows," Emily said reaching across the table to pat his hand.

She could feel Lacy's eyes burning into her, but Emily blew it off.

"You guys do realize I'm Puerto Rican, right? We popped out of the womb with a bottle of alcohol," Luke joked.

"Alright, let's make this game more interesting. Whoever can drink the most without getting sick and can still walk out of the bar unassisted wins $100," Emily said.

Luke and Derek both agreed as Penelope kept track of how many drinks they had.

Later in the evening, Emily had gone up to the bar to order more drinks and was surprised when Lacy stepped up next to her. Emily turned to face her with a drunken smile on her face.

"I thought about what you said the other night and I want you to know that all I want for Spencer is for him to be happy," Emily said.

"Thank you," Lacy said smirking at Emily.

"Oh, no. I think you misunderstand. I want Spencer to be happy and I don't believe you do that," Emily started.

Lacy let out a laugh. "Is that so? Well he seemed really happy this evening when I fucked him so good he was crying my name," Lacy said grinning with a raised eyebrow.

"Ok so you can please him with sex. What woman couldn't do that? Can you please him in any other ways? Can you sit through 5 hours of a movie all in Russian? Would you go with him to any comic conventions? Have you ever watched Dr. Who? Spencer Reid is more than just mindless sex and he'll eventually get bored with you. He needs brain stimulation not oral stimulation," Emily said as the bartender handed her the drinks she ordered.

Lacy looked at a loss for words. Her face was red with anger as Emily started to walk off. She stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Let's get one thing clear, shall we?" Emily said using Lacy's line against her. "I don't take kindly to bitches trying to fuck with my best friend. You may have always gotten what you wanted in the past, but you've never gone up against me. Even if I never get with Spencer, I will spend every day of my life making sure that he doesn't end up with you."

With that, Emily smiled and then waltzed off leaving a stunned Lacy behind her.

(xxxxx)

Spencer opened the car door for Lacy and she climbed out. He could tell something was bothering her, but he couldn't figure out what. She had been quiet most of the evening and didn't seem to be enjoying the drink off between his friends. She especially seemed cold towards Emily. When they reached her door, he decided to approach her about it.

"Hey, is everything alright?" he asked gently.

"Spence … I … never mind," she said trying to reel him in.

"No, what is it? You can tell me anything," he said.

"You wouldn't believe me," Lacy pouted as she unlocked the door to her apartment and walked inside.

Spencer reached out and grabbed her arm. Lacy turned to look at him with tears, she had worked up, in her eyes.

"Lacy, please tell me what's wrong," he said with concern.

Lacy pretended to debate it and finally let out a loud, dramatic sigh.

"Your friend Emily. She hates me," Lacy started.

"Emily? No, she doesn't hate you," Spencer said.

Lacy huffed and turned to stomp away. "I told you, you wouldn't believe me," she said as she stormed to the bedroom.

Spencer went after her and grabbed her arm again.

"Why do you think she hates you?" Spencer asked trying to show her he genuinely cared.

"I don't _think_ , Spencer. I know. When I went to the bar to get you something to drink, she was getting drinks too. I didn't even say anything to her and she just started going off about how I don't deserve you, how I'm too stupid to be with you, that you'd eventually get bored of me. She even called me a bitch and said she would do all she could to keep me from you," Lacy said as she let a flood of tears pour from her eyes.

Spencer looked at her in shock, before pulling her into his arms. He held her as she sobbed into his shoulder. He couldn't believe that Emily would say something like that. Not the Emily he knew. But why would Lacy say that if it weren't true?

"She's right. You deserve better. We should just break up," Lacy said as she tried to pull out of his grasp.

"Listen to me, you are the most beautiful, most caring, most loving person I've ever known. I don't know what the hell Emily is talking about, but I can assure you she's wrong. You are very intelligent and I enjoy spending time with you. You won't lose me," he tried to tell her.

Lacy cried harder as she tried to get out of his arms.

"Look at me. Lacy, look at me," he ordered. Lacy's eyes slowly looked up into his deep brown eyes. "Lacy, I love you," he said.

A smile stretched across Lacy's lips and she grinned at him. "I love you too, Spence," she said before pulling his lips to hers.


	3. Chapter 3

_Took me a few days – wound up being so sick I couldn't muster the energy to write. On the mend, so hoping I can get somewhere a bit faster with this story._

 _I'm glad you all loath Lacy – that's definitely what I was going for. I always thought Spencer was so sweet that some pretty girl could come along, steal his heart, and use & abuse him. _

_Emily to the rescue_

 _(xxxxx)_

Emily sat on J.J.'s desk talking about her weekend, when Spencer appeared in the doorway. J.J.'s smile faded as she looked at his face. She went to speak, but he beat her to it.

"Emily, do you have a minute?" he said tersely.

Emily shot J.J. a look, but stood up and followed him out of the room. He didn't turn around or acknowledge her. He just continued walking to the break room. Once Emily stepped inside, Spencer pushed the door closed.

"Is everything ok?" Emily asked nervously.

"Did you tell Lacy that she didn't deserve me and was too stupid to be with me?" he said without preempt.

"Uh, not exactly what I said," Emily started.

"She was in tears the other night because of you Emily," he said angrily.

"Spence," she tried.

"Why would you say something like that? You are supposed to be my best friend."

"Spencer, I'm just trying to look out for you," she said stepping toward him.

"How is this looking out for me? Emily, I've had two girlfriends over the past decade. One of them died before my eyes. Now I finally find someone I care for and you try to tear it apart? I don't understand why you would do that to me?" he said staring at her.

She looked at him helplessly. _Just tell him how you feel. No, you can't do that. He doesn't want you. Why would he want someone 10 years his senior, when he can have beautiful young modelesque women? You heard him. You are just his friend. He sees you as nothing more._

"I'm sorry. I … I don't know what came over me, Spencer. I was drunk and acting out. I'm very sorry," Emily conceded. This was no longer about her happiness. It was about his. She had to let him be happy and if he was happy with Lacy, she would step aside.

"You owe her an apology. Not me," he replied with his arms folded across his chest.

"You're right," Emily said looking down at the floor.

She could feel Spencer staring at her. She glanced up when she saw him step closer to her.

"I want you to be her friend. Then I can hang out with my girlfriend and my best friend," he said smiling at her. "She's really great if you give her a chance."

Emily nodded and placed a fake smile on her face. Spencer gave her shoulder a pat before leaving her alone in the room. Emily slowly lowered herself into the chair and tried to gather herself together. She was always great at hiding her feelings. Why was it becoming increasingly more difficult?

(xxxxx)

Spencer sat on the couch next to Lacy, watching some stupid show about some rich girls named Kardashian. He wanted to gouge out his eyeballs, but Lacy seemed to be enjoying it, so he sat quietly with her.

"You need a haircut," she suddenly said as her fingers twisted into his curly locks.

"Huh?"

"You need a haircut. You look like a girl," she said not looking at him.

Spencer felt himself turn red at the comment. Before he could say anything, there was a knock at the door. Lacy looked quizzically at him.

"It's probably Emily," he said getting up.

"Emily? What is she doing here?" Lacy said, glaring at him.

"I invited her," he began.

"Excuse me?" Lacy said. It's then that Spencer understood the phrase 'If looks could kill.'

"No, Lace. She's coming over to apologize to you," he reassured her.

He unlocked the door and swung it open to see a sheepish Emily standing in the doorway. He gave her a grateful smile and moved aside to let her in. Lacy stayed in her position on the couch, shooting daggers at Emily.

"I know you aren't happy to see me. I can't blame you," Emily said not moving further into the room. "I've been awful to you and I'm truly sorry. I never should have spoken to you the way I did. I apologize and I hope you will forgive me."

Without much hesitation, Lacy's icy stare thawed and a small smile crossed her lips. She let her body drop into a more relaxed position.

"Thank you for that Emily. I hope we can start over and maybe become friends," Lacy stated.

Emily nodded, but inside her body screamed it's reluctance. Spencer seemed thrilled.

"I'm going to go order some Chinese. Em, you want to stay and eat?" he offered.

"No, I don't want to interrupt. You two have a good evening. I'll see myself out," she said as she walked over to the front door.

Spencer waved goodbye to her as he went into the kitchen, as Emily pulled the door shut, something stopped it. She looked back to see Lacy pulling the door open. Emily backed up further as Lacy leaned on the door. Her icy glare plastered back on her face.

"I win, bitch," she whispered before shutting the door and locking it.

Emily stood in shock. She was right. Lacy wasn't a good person. It wasn't just because Emily was in love with Spencer. She had to save him from her, but how?

(xxxxx)

The following day as everyone prepared for their case, Spencer was notably absent. Hotch told Penelope to begin debriefing, when suddenly Spencer hurried into the room. They all stared at him in shock at his very short and somewhat trendy haircut. He gave an apologetic smile as he dropped into his seat.

"What'ja join a boyband?" Hotch asked staring at him.

The room erupted in giggles, except for Emily. She furrowed her brow in confusion. Spencer loved having long hair. In fact, he recently told her that he considered growing it out for locks of love. Why now would he cut it off and so drastically. He looked amazing, of course, but she had this feeling that Lacy was behind the change.

A week later, when they went out to dinner as a group, Spencer showed up in jeans and a t-shirt. Everyone teased him, but Lacy defended the look saying he looked like a model. He did. She was right. But that wasn't Spencer.

Emily was becoming more distressed by the minute. She was watching Lacy slowly turn Spencer into someone he wasn't and she couldn't say anything. After tormenting herself back and forth, she decided to try and plead with Lacy.

It was early one Saturday morning, when Emily called Lacy and asked if she would meet her for coffee. Emily waited nervously at the café not drinking her drink, but stirring it constantly. She heard the bell of the door and looked to see Lacy waltz in like she owned the place. She put an order in before acknowledging Emily.

"Thank you for meeting me," Emily said.

"I had nothing else to do," she said as if bored already.

Emily glossed over it. "I'm just going to jump right in. I am worried about Spencer. His hair, the clothing, those aren't him. Please if you love him, stop trying to change him. Please let him be who he is," Emily said almost desperately.

Lacy was quiet for a moment, when she suddenly burst out laughing. Emily was surprised by the reaction.

"I'm sorry, what's so funny?"

"You are so pathetic," Lacy said still laughing. "Have you seen Spencer? He's gorgeous now. I made that."

"Spencer has always been gorgeous. He doesn't need to change who is he to fit some mold of what you or society thinks is acceptable," Emily said angrily.

"You really need to move on. Spencer doesn't want you. He never will. So, stop acting like some loser puppy and find someone else to bother."

Lacy got up from the table with her coffee and started to walk away.

"I won't let you destroy him," Emily said grabbing Lacy by the arm.

Lacy snatched her arm out of Emily's grasp before she stormed out of the café.

(xxxxx)

Emily sat at her desk doing paperwork, while Derek sat nearby telling Penelope and Luke about his wedding plans with Savannah. The room was fairly quiet when Spencer stalked into the room. His brow was furrowed angrily when he slammed his bag down on his desk. Everyone jumped at this and turned to look at him.

"What is wrong with you?" Spencer snapped at Emily.

Her eyes were wide with surprise, even though she knew what he was angry about.

"I came to you Emily. I asked you, as my friend, to be kind to Lacy," he began with a lot of venom in his voice. It was very unsettling.

"She's changing you," Emily defended herself.

"No, she isn't! The only one changing is you! I used to be able to trust you and now … now … just do me a favor Emily and stay away from her! Stay away from her and stay away from me!" he said before picking his bag up and storming out of the office.

As much as Emily hated showing emotion, her eyes filled with tears that she tried desperately to cover. She could feel Derek, Penelope, and Luke staring at her. Without another word, she rose from her chair and left the room.


	4. Chapter 4

_I keep forgetting to mention that I'll be taking some of the stories out of order. Also, clearly I added Luke to the story because I sort of ship him and Garcia now …. So_

 _Enjoy!_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer tried to make himself a cup of coffee, but his hands were shaking. He turned around to find Emily shutting the door the breakroom.

"I don't want to hear it Emily," he spat.

"Well too bad, because you're going to listen. Whether you want to believe me or not, I am trying to protect you!"

Spencer spun to face her. His eyes filled with anger.

"Protect me from what? I love her, Emily!"

Those words cut straight to her heart. She bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Spencer, you are an amazing, unique man. One I've grown to appreciate and respect. The hair … the clothes …" she started as she gestured to him.

"Emily, it's just clothes and hair. It's not like I've tattooed my entire body and started wearing black eyeliner," he said rolling his eyes.

Emily groaned in frustration. "I have always been here for you and I'm not about to let you down now."

"Then just let me be happy!"

"Not with her! She is an awful human being and she doesn't deserve you! And I don't care if you don't talk to me the rest of your life! I will never stop trying to keep you from making the biggest mistake of your life!"

Spencer was seething now. His hand shook before he finally spun and tossed his coffee cup at the wall. It shattered and the liquid poured down to the floor. Emily stood still in her place. Her heart raced and tears threatened once again.

"You can hate me all you want Spencer, but in your heart … deep down if you pay attention, you will see I am right. She is not the one for you," Emily said as her voice shook with emotion.

Without waiting for Spencer to reply, she swung the door open and plowed through the eavesdroppers; Derek, Penelope, and Luke. Spencer ran his fingers through his hair as the team scattered back to their desks.

(xxxxx)

Spencer sat on his knees wiping up the coffee off the floor. He was still very angry with Emily, but he felt bad about lashing out the way he did.

"Need some help?"

He turned to see J.J. standing behind him with some paper towels in her hand. He smiled and took them from her.

"Thank you," he said softly.

She helped him for a few moments in silence. When they completed the job, she leaned against the table and gave him a sympathetic smile.

"You wanna talk about it?" she asked.

"Not really," he said.

"Spence, I don't know Lacy very well, but I do know Emily. She's always had your best interest at heart," J.J. began.

"Oh, now you too? You all make fun of me for being single and now that I have a girlfriend, you all gang up on me to tell me how terrible she is?" he snapped.

"I never said she was terrible. I said I don't know her, but come on this is Emily," J.J. said more forcefully.

Spencer huffed angrily and started to leave the room, when J.J. stopped him.

"Look, I have never told anyone this, but I feel like you should know," J.J. started. Spencer turned to face her. "About a month ago, when we were all out, Emily disappeared. I went to look for her and I found her … with a guy."

Spencer furrowed his brow in confusion. J.J. held up a hand to explain further.

"I could hear her," J.J. pursed her lips, feeling uncomfortable sharing this information. "She was yelling a name … but it wasn't the name of the guy she was with. After that I began watching her more closely and I could see it. I can't believe I didn't see it before, but," J.J. hesitated.

"What does this have to do with me?" Spencer asked with frustration.

J.J. took a deep breath and shut her eyes for a moment. Finally, she reopened them. "Spencer … Emily is in love with you."

Spencer's jaw dropped and he blinked in confusion as he took in her words. He squinted at her as he tried to understand what she was saying.

"What? No … no, Emily … no, she's just my friend," he stuttered.

"I never saw it before either Spence. But now that I've realized it, I can see it in everything. The way she looks at you, the way she talks about you … the way she protects you," J.J. said.

Spencer stood in stunned silence. Suddenly Penelope appeared in the room.

"Guys, I hate to interrupt, but Reid, Hotch would like to see you in his office," she said.

Spencer snapped out of his thoughts and walked off toward the office. He stepped inside and was surprised to find Emily sitting in front of Hotch's desk. His heart dropped. Did she seriously get Hotch involved?

"Take a seat," Hotch said pointing to the empty chair next to Emily.

"I'll stand thank you," Spencer replied, ignoring the pained expression on Emily's face.

"Suit yourself," Hotch stated. "I received a call from the local PD in La Plata County, Colorado to request assistance with an undercover investigation. You would be posing as child victim interview experts along with child services expert Nancy Lunde. She will be waiting for you at headquarters to go over the final details.," he said.

"Just the two of us?" Spencer asked as he scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Is there a problem?" Hotch asked glancing between the two.

"No, sir," Emily said professionally.

Hotch looked at Spencer, who finally shook his head no.

"Alright, get your belongings and get to the airport. Your flight leaves at 11:35," Hotch said going back to his paperwork.

Emily got up and left the room, without glancing at Spencer.


	5. Chapter 5

_This part of the story is from season 4, episode 3, written by Andrew Wilder. I do use many of the lines from that episode. They are not mine – they are brilliantly written by Andrew Wilder. The only part that is mine is the thoughts and interpretations of Spencer and Emily's feelings. I may add some of my own dialogue, but I'm sure it's not nearly as great as Andrews._

 _Enjoy and thanks as always for the comments! *Part two of this will be up later this afternoon – it's written, I just need to proof read it*_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer and Emily remained silent the entire flight, in fact, Spencer pretended to sleep for the entire flight, while Emily listened to her music and played games on her phone. Once they landed in Colorado, a car was waiting to take them to the station.

By mid-afternoon they were in the car heading for the compound. Spencer and Emily played professional and slipped easily into their role as if no argument existed between them. Although, Emily could still feel the ice in his presence as he refused to look at her or acknowledge her in any way.

Spencer was sitting in the backseat flipping through the folder that Nancy gave him, when he leaned up in his seat to talk to her.

"Tell us about the 911 call," he said catching Emily by surprise.

"I believe the 'he' they refer to, is the churches leader Benjamin Cyrus," Nancy said as she continued to drive to the compound.

"Benjamin Cyrus," Spencer repeated as he read the paperwork. "No criminal record. No record at all really. What else do you know about him?"

"It's rumored that he's practicing polygamy and forced marriages," Nancy stated.

"Any idea who the caller is?" Emily asked.

"Uh, Jessica Evanson, who the age fits, but we can't be sure, so I negotiated interviews with all the children. It wasn't easy," Nancy replied.

Emily dug into her pocket to get her badge and then began unclipping her gun. "Well, considering their views on outsiders. It would be best if you didn't identify us as FBI." She handed her stuff to Spencer. He took all their items and stored them safely in the backseat of the car. "Just use our real names and introduce us as child victim interview experts."

After another 20 minutes of silence, they arrived at the compound. Emily couldn't believe how expansive it was. The building itself looked like a fort and yet, it didn't appear threatening. Nancy parked the car and they all climbed out, following her lead.

A man about 30 feet away, sat on a small pillar that framed the concrete entrance stairway. He was wearing glasses and casually reading a book.

"We're looking for Mr. Benjamin Cyrus," Nancy called out to the man.

"You found him," Ben replied as he took off his glasses and stood up.

"I'm Nancy Lunde, we spoke on the phone regarding the allegations," she said.

Ben looked between all three of them. He looked as if he were sizing them up. Emily and Spencer remained unfazed and continued to play the part of concerned social workers.

"Savages they call us, because our manners differ from theirs," Ben stated.

"We didn't come here to hear you cite scripture, Mr. Cyrus," Nancy said with irritation.

"Actually, it's Benjamin Franklin," Spencer said out of habit.

Nancy shot Spencer a look, but he didn't seem to notice. He was too busy staring Ben down. She decided this was a good time for introductions.

"Emily Prentiss and Spencer Reid, the child victim interview experts," Nancy said.

"How far from God's word we must have strayed to need to invent a job called child victim interview experts," Ben said as he looked between the two.

"We wish we didn't have to be here," Emily said gently.

"So do we … but you are welcome nonetheless. The children are in the school as I've indicated," Ben said as he pointed toward a part of the compound.

Emily gave him a small smile. "Thank you," she said before walking off with Nancy.

Spencer stood in the same place, staring at the rows of solar boards. Ben noticed Spencer lagging behind, so he stopped and waited for him. Spencer decided this was a good chance to make a small bond with Ben.

"You're using solar power?" he asked.

"Yea, we're completely self-sufficient. Electricity, food, water. Ben Franklin said: God helps those that help themselves. You look surprised," Ben said studying Spencer.

"No … uh … impressed actually," Spencer replied.

"Thank you."

Spencer was confused by this response. "For what?"

"For admitting that," Ben said before walking away.

Spencer followed close behind.

(xxxxx)

Inside the school, Nancy set up a small section to talk with the children. One by one they were to be brought in for what they were told was routine questioning. When they started with Jessica Evanson, the girl believed to be the one who made the 911 call, her mother Kathy insisted she come with them. Nancy agreed to this, since Kathy may have insight as well.

Jessie took a seat in the chair, while her mother stood behind her right shoulder. Emily sat down in front of her, while Spencer stood off to the side to listen. Nancy stayed back and allowed Emily to conduct the interview. While talking with Jessie, they were suddenly interrupted by someone bursting into the room, shouting "Get up! Get up! You heard me! Stand!"

Emily stood up from her chair, her heart racing at the sight of the guns in the men's hands. One of the men went straight for Spencer and began patting him down. He looked at Emily quizzically and she stared at him just as clueless.

"What's going on?" Nancy called out angrily.

Ben appeared in the back of the group. "We just got a very strange phone call from a news reporter," he said as Emily got her pat down. "Is there anything you want to tell me?" he asked as his eyes held Emily's.

She stared back at him not breaking eye contact. When nobody spoke up, Ben looked to Spencer. "About a raid maybe?" His eyes grew large as did Emily's. What the hell was going on? There wasn't supposed to be any raid? Ben could read the shock in their expressions and he relaxed his stance.

"They don't know," he said to the others. "Alright, listen up. I want everyone down in the basement immediately."

Once he had spoken this, everyone sprang into action and began hustling to get down the stairs. Everyone was in a panic as they shuffled down the tiny stairs into the large bomb type shelter.

"What's going on?" Nancy asked Spencer as they followed the crowd.

"I don't know. Just stay calm," Spencer said.

As they all settled in, the sound of gun shots could be heard above. Emily leaned towards Spencer, her heart racing in fear and confusion.

"Where'd these guys come from?" she asked Spencer.

"I don't know. Garcia checked with the state police," he responded as he looked around the room. Ben stood at the front of the basement trying to keep everyone calm, while Nancy fidgeted nervously.

"This is ridiculous," she said getting angry.

"It's ok, just calm down," Emily replied.

"Alright, remain calm. Stay quiet. God will protect you," Ben called from the front of the room.

Suddenly Nancy's face lit up like she just remembered something. "It's the state police. I'm an officer of the state," she said to Spencer and Emily.

"Well there's nothing you can do right now," Emily said.

"I can talk to them," Nancy assured her.

"No, you can't! It's dangerous!" Emily said as she tried to chase after her. "Nancy, stop! Nancy!"

But it was too late. Nancy made it passed the guards and had run up the stairs, leaving Spencer and Emily behind helplessly.

(xxxxx)

About twenty minutes later, Ben came down the stairs and stood in front of everyone. The room was silent as they waited for him to give them any sort of news. Spencer looked at Emily and could read the concern in her eyes. He wanted to reassure her, but he was just as afraid as she was.

"Do not fear we are on the side of righteous," he proclaimed.

"Where's Lunde?" Emily asked, not caring about his stupid proclamations at the moment.

"it wasn't us," Ben said to her.

Emily's heart dropped. Spencer wanted to reach out to comfort her, but she stepped forward angrily.

"What? You can't shoot it out with a cop! You have children here!" she shouted at Ben.

"I didn't start this," he said matter-of-factly to her.

Emily stared at him in disbelief, when someone from upstairs called, "they're pulling out."

"Not for long," Spencer sighed.

(xxxxx)

It had been about an hour since the shoot off. Everyone was still standing in the basement, some were crying. Some were holding one another and whispering words of reassurance. Some stood reciting prayers and scripture, while others stood ready to battle if needed. Emily was pacing in distress, while Spencer stood by watching her.

He wanted to reach out to her. He knew they were in an argument, but it didn't seem to matter anymore. She was still his best friend and he loved her. He didn't want anything to happen to her. He found himself watching her closely for signs of what J.J. had told him, but she didn't seem to be paying any attention to him at the moment.

He knew she was busy trying to calculate plans in her mind, which he should be doing as well, but he found himself too distracted to focus. His thoughts were interrupted by an announcement that they were all to make their way to the chapel, where Ben was waiting for them.

They shuffled like herded sheep, isn't that the perfect metaphor, up the stairs and to the chapel. Once inside they all took their seats. Spencer and Emily sat in a row by themselves. Nobody seemed to be paying any attention to them.

Ben walked to the back of the chapel and the door opened. They sighed internally when they saw Rossi walk into the room. At first, Rossi paid no attention to the room, but eventually Ben pointed Emily and Spencer out to him. They made eye contact with him and they knew he would be doing all he could to get ears inside this building. A plan was beginning to emerge.

After Rossi left the room, Emily and Spencer got up from their chairs and walked to the back of the chapel. They assumed that Ben was going to do a service as he pulled a large bottle containing wine from behind the pulpit.

Ben began walking around the room pouring the wine into plastic cups that had been distributed amongst the members.

"We are celebrating. Everyone drinks, everyone rejoices. Because today we are one day closer to being with him," Ben said as he poured wine into Jessica's cup.

"Look at Jessica's body language. The way she looks at him," Emily whispered to Spencer.

"She literally worships him. There's no way she made that 911 call," Spencer agreed.

"Trust in God with all your heart," Ben said as Kathy stood and walked over to Jessie. "Lean not on your own understandings. Trust in mine."

Emily watched as Jessie tried multiple times to peer around her mom to see Ben, but was continually blocked.

"Look at how she comes between Cyrus and her daughter. She's inserted herself between them," Emily said.

They both watched this continue.

"Acknowledge him in all things. He will guide you. Drink to acknowledge him and I will guide your way," he said as everyone drank the wine together. "We will all be with him soon. We've drank the poison together. Mothers, fathers, children, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we fear no evil. For thou are with us. And God will wipe the tears from their eyes and there will be no more deaths. Nor sorrow. Nor crying and there will be no more pain. For all of the former things have passed away," he said.

The room was full of mixed emotions. Some looked terrified and were crying or clutching family members. While others seemed ready and resigned to die.

"What do we do?" Emily said in a panic.

Spencer stared at the crowd with an arched brow. "Nothing," he said.

Emily looked at him with confusion. "We have to do something! These people just took poison," she said in a low, but frightened voice.

"Cyrus just told them they did. I think he was bluffing," Spencer said as he watched Cyrus and Cole talking.

"Why do you think that?" Emily asked, praying he was right.

"Just after he told them about the poison, he waited for them to start to react. Then he nodded to Cole who started writing," he explained and then used his head to indicate where to look. "Look, he's scanning the audience looking for reactions."

Emily watched what they were doing and her heart rate started to slow down. "They're writing down the name of people who are crying."

Spencer nodded. "It's a loyalty list."

"So he knows who will follow him to the end," Emily sighed.

Then they heard the words they were hoping to hear.

"Be still there was no poison. Instead a test of faith, because your advisory the devil walketh about as a roaring lion!" he shouted. "Choosing who he will devour! Watch each other for a sign of weakness. You are your brother's keeper."


	6. Chapter 6

_As promised, here's the second part of Season 4, Episode 3: Minimal Loss. I added a lot more to this part of the story. Anything in italics is Spencer or Emily's internal dialogue. Hope you enjoy my take on things. I still firmly believe there was loads of evidence that Emily and Spencer liked each other … but the writers seemed to disagree or change their minds … so I'm making it the way I think it should be_

 _Thanks for the great comments – they really made me smile!_

 _(xxxxx)_

After things had settled down, Ben sent Emily and Spencer back into the basement to wait in what he called safety. They knew it was to keep them from hearing his plans. Neither of them spoke to one another, though it was no longer due to their argument. It was due to nerves and, truthfully, fear.

Spencer found his mind wandering to Emily again. He glanced over at her and saw her running her fingers through her long black hair. He wanted to know what it would feel like under his fingers. _Whoa, where did that come from? He never had thoughts like that before._

Spencer was snapped back to reality when Ben came storming into the room. Spencer could see the anger written all over his face. He looked at Emily and he saw she was startled by his expression as well.

Ben stopped in between them and frowned. "Which one of you is it?"

Spencer looked at him with confusion, as did Emily. When neither of them answered he pulled his gun out of his pants.

"Which one of you is the FBI agent?" he asked, internally seething.

Spencer's heart was racing, but he schooled his facial expressions. "Why do you think one of us in an FBI agent?"

Ben stared at Spencer and sighed. "God will forgive me for what I must do." With this he cocked his gun and aimed directly at Spencer's face.

Spencer was flustered. "I … I don't know what you're talking about," he said nervously.

Emily stared in shock at the gun pointing at Spencer. She knew Ben wasn't bluffing and would shoot him. She had to do something to protect him.

"One of you does. Who is it?" she heard Ben say.

"Me," Emily replied, without further thought.

Spencer furrowed his brows at her as he felt the wind taken from his lungs. Did she just admit to being FBI?

"It's me," Emily repeated as she looked up at Ben.

Ben put the gun down and turned to her. Spencer glared at her.

 _What the hell are you doing?_

 _It's ok._

Neither of them spoke a word to one another, yet they could read exactly what the other was thinking. Before Spencer could speak up to protect Emily, Ben had grabbed her by the hair and dragged her off. Spencer tried to get up to help her, but the men with guns stood in front of him.

He watched in horror as they dragged her away and he prayed to God that they weren't going to kill her. Not Emily. Not after their big fight. He never got to tell her he wasn't mad at her anymore. That he forgave her. Now it might be too late. It was that moment, he saw the full depth of her love for him.

He nearly collapsed with the weight of this revelation. Emily just risked her life for him and there was nothing he could do to return the favor.

(xxxxx)

Emily tried her best to not fight back as Ben dragged her by her hair into a storage supply room. Her instincts were trying to take over and she wanted to kick his ass, but she knew if she did she risked Spencer's life as well. So, she played helpless.

"I told you not to put me in this position!" Ben yelled as he slapped her across the cheek.

Emily was surprised by how powerful the slap was. She felt a ringing in her ears and as she bent over she felt Ben's knee slam into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

"Get up!" he growled as he lifted her off the floor and delivered a devastating punch to her face.

Emily fell backwards in to a mirror attached to the wall. The glass shattered and rained down on her as she tried to get her bearings.

"Proverbs 20:30 tells us blows and wounds cleanse away the evil," Ben said into her ear as he clutched her hair again.

He used this as momentum to throw her across the room into the opposite wall. Emily smashed into the wall with a grunt and dropped to the floor. As she tried to get back up, she suddenly remembered that the team was probably listening. If they came in now everyone's lives were in danger.

"I can take it," she groaned as she slowly stood up.

Ben glared at her. He couldn't believe after all the beating she was still mouthing off to him.

"Oh you can take it?" he said before delivering another slap across her already bruised cheek.

Emily had to make sure that the team was clear that she was talking to them. "I can take it," she said again.

"Pride comes before the fall," Ben said angrily.

He swung his fist into Emily's stomach and threw her down onto the floor. Emily gasped for air as she lay twitching on the cold concrete floor. Her eyes rolled at the unbelievable amount of pain coursing through her body. She closed her eyes and prayed that Spencer wouldn't give away that he was FBI as well.

(xxxxx)

Spencer paced the chapel nervously. His heart was pounding and his stomach was in knots. What was happening to Emily? What if Ben killed her? He wouldn't do that would he? He was still trying to play the part of a righteous man. He had to believe this was true. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Emily.

Just then the chapel doors opened and Ben came stalking in angrily, with Cole trailing behind with a first aid kit. Ben was cradling his hand as he went straight for his office. He didn't even glance at Spencer. After a moment of hesitation, Spencer slowly walked towards Ben's office, but couldn't bring himself to step inside. He stood in the doorway watching Ben clean his wounded knuckles.

That was a good sign. Maybe she wasn't hurt badly. Maybe he didn't kill her. His thoughts were interrupted by Ben.

"Did you know she was FBI?"

Spencer was startled, but knew this question was going to come up at some point. "Nancy told me that the woman was a child abuse interview expert from Denver. In the four years I've worked with her, Nancy never lied to me before."

He hoped he sounded genuine, because right now his brain was in a thousand different places. Most importantly, his brain was trying to find a way to save Emily.

"As far as you know. Their law says that a 15-year-old is a child. 50 years ago, that same law said a 14-year-old was an adult. Have children changed so much in 50 years?" Ben said.

Spencer wanted to strangle this man. Was he really sitting there justifying his atrocious behavior? Spencer knew he had to play along, but that didn't stop him from a few mental images of himself beating the life out of Ben.

"I can't tell you the number of times I've investigated abuse charges against small religious groups. Almost all of them turn out to be false," Spencer lied.

Ben seemed curious at this response. "What do you think of that?"

"Doesn't really matter what I think," Spencer said not wanting to play his stupid mind games.

"Does to me," Ben said.

"Why?" Spencer said. _Your move dumb ass. I'm going to take you down and you have no idea that you're going to set me up to do so._

"Because God wants to save you. I mean that's why He sent you here. That's the reason," Ben responded.

 _Oh so we are back to the religious aspect are we? Alright, my move. I sure hope you are listening out there, Rossi._

"On the next call you should … test them. Test the negotiator. Make them prove that he isn't a liar," Spencer said.

"How would you suggest I do that?" Ben asked without looking at Spencer.

"Ask the identity of the FBI agent," he said.

"We already know her identity," Cole snapped.

 _You aren't even on Cyrus' level, you Neanderthal. Don't get in the way. I'll make you look like the knuckle dragger you are._

"They don't know that," Ben said as he realized Spencer's idea.

"The FBI would never tell us," Cole said.

 _Oh my goodness man, shut up!_ "They keep on asking you to release people. Tell them you'll release a kid and you won't harm the agent. If they really care about the children, they'll have to tell you," Spencer stated.

"You're trying to get us to release a child!" Cole argued.

 _We have a winner! What's his prize Alex?_

"It's one kid. If they don't hold up on their end of the deal, then you'll know they can't be trusted," Spencer said, more for Cole's benefit, because he knew Ben understood the concept.

"He has a point," Ben stated the obvious. "Alright, I want you to gather everyone and send them to the chapel."

Cole huffed, but without saying anything he walked off. Spencer wanted to smile at him, but he kept his features stone faced.

(xxxxx)

Emily was laying on the cot trying to relax despite the pain. Her mind was running a mile a minute trying to come up with a plan to get herself out of this room. She tensed when she heard the door to her room open, but calmed as soon as she saw it was Kathy.

Kathy wandered in quietly carrying a towel and a bowel, probably filled with water. She sat down next to Emily and began gently cleaning her wounds. Emily gave her a grateful smile.

"You should've told Cyrus who you were," Kathy said softly. "He's a prophet. He predicted that Satan's armies would come and lay siege to us."

 _Oh dear, sweet Kathy, no. Cyrus is more Satan, than God. You are too smart for this._

"There's a name for that kind of prophecy … self-fulfilling," Emily replied bitterly.

"You don't know how dangerous it is to lie to him," Kathy said ignoring Emily's words.

This was Emily's chance. She knew Kathy was the one who called to save her daughter.

"I know it would take a brave woman to defy him. Knowing the consequences and that that woman would have to have a damn good reason to do it," Emily said.

A look of terror crossed her eyes, but she said nothing further. She dipped her head down and continued to clean Emily. The door, suddenly, swung open scaring both Kathy and Emily. Had someone been eavesdropping?

"Cyrus wants you in the chapel," a man said.

Kathy nodded, laid the rag down, and took off out of the room, like a bat out of hell. The man walked over to Emily and grabbed her by the arm.

"Get up," he growled.

Emily tried to walk steady as she was manhandled. She was led roughly from the room and towards the chapel.

(xxxxx)

Spencer stood at the back of the chapel watching everyone come in and head to their seats. No one seemed concerned or afraid. It was like another day of church for them. He didn't know if he pitied these people or despised them.

Ben silenced the group and immediately jumped into talking about members losing their faith in God. How some of them wanted to abandon the "church." Spencer listened intently, in case action was required, but his concentration failed him when Emily was dragged into the room.

Her face was bloodied and bruised. Her shirt was torn and held blood stains. She glanced his way and gave him a small smile. He walked toward her. His heart ripping into pieces. Emily was listening to Ben call out names, when Spencer approached her.

"He looks pissed," she whispered to him.

She glanced at Spencer and did a double take. The look in his eyes was heartbreaking. She knew he was going to beat himself up about this. He would blame himself.

"It's not as bad as it looks," she assured him.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. She could hear the emotion in his voice. She realized his apology was for more than just what Cyrus did to her.

Reaching out, she gently grabbed his hand and gave it a small squeeze. She shook her head no as she let her hand fall away again.

Spencer went to speak again, when Emily stopped him.

"Look at who he is releasing," she said.

Spencer snapped back to reality and turned to look at Ben. He saw one-by-one, members of the congregation stand from their seats.

"It's the ones who failed the loyalty test," he said as he realized what was going on.

No time to be emotional now. He had to save these people and most importantly, save Emily.

"I'll get word to the team. Wait for a sign from outside indicating what time the raid will come," he said. With that, he walked away and headed towards Ben. Time to finish this game once and for all.

Ben looked at Spencer who frowned at him as if disappointed. He knew Ben was waiting for him to say something.

"Told her she shouldn't have lied to you like that," he said.

Ben seemed satisfied. "To either of us." He looked over at his henchman. "Take her back."

They grabbed her arm and she looked at Spencer one more time. _Be safe, Spencer. I love you._

Spencer watched her being dragged off with grief in his heart. _I won't let you down Emily._

(xxxxx)

Back in his office, Ben seemed to be making arrangements for something after letting the "unbelievers" go. Spencer stood silently watching as Ben picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"We will surrender tomorrow at noon. I want the press there to ensure we're treated fairly. We'll discuss the details at our 7am call. I'll see you then Dave," Ben started to hang up. "Oh, and one more thing, could you send some food in?" He was quiet for a moment. "Fried chicken, all the fixens."

Ben hung up the phone without a goodbye and turned to face Spencer and Cole.

"I don't understand. Why did you let them go?" Cole asked.

 _Does Cyrus tie your shoes for you?_

"They weren't prepared to do what was needed," Spencer answered, knowing full well it would irritate Cole.

"You're not one of us! You don't know what it takes to be prepared!" Cole snapped.

 _Your moron leader seems to think I do._

"Listen to him," Ben said calmly. Spencer wanted to gloat so bad. "Tell him."

"They failed the test. They had a chance to prove their faith when Cyrus told them they sacrificed themselves for God, but instead they showed they weren't worthy. It's why he wants the media to bear witness to your true final act of sacrifice," Spencer explained.

 _Oh, and one plus one is two, dipshit._

"How do you know that?" Cole asked eyeing him suspiciously.

 _Cause I have a brain?_

"I'm always looking for signs of things to come," Spencer said, knowing that Rossi would know exactly what he was saying. _Checkmate._

(xxxxx)

Emily lay in the bed with her boot heel lifting the blinds. She was hoping someone out there would hear her. She had been repeating her mantra for over 30 minutes with nothing. She was starting to panic a little. She knew her team wouldn't let her down, but it was nearing the endgame and she still didn't know how safe she was or how safe Spencer was.

Cyrus seemed to like him a lot. Maybe he would let Spencer go? That was stupid, though. Even if he did offer Spencer a way out, she knew he wouldn't take it. He would die trying to save everyone. Him and his stupid, beautiful, loving, self-sacrificing heart.

"If you can hear me, I know you're coming. I can try to get the women and children down to the tunnel, but I need to know when you're coming," she said again.

Still nothing. She sighed and repeated it again. On her third time, a red dot appeared on the tip of the blinds. She looked to the wall and saw the red dot from a sniper scope.

"Ok, ok, I got you," she said trying to contain her excitement. "What time?" The little red light blinked one – two – three. "3am?" The light moved up and down. "Understood," she felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Morgan?" she asked.

The red light moved up and down again. "Boy, am I glad to see you," she said realizing how silly that sounded since she couldn't see him. "Reid is on the first floor somewhere with Cyrus. Please remember there are children here."

She wanted to keep talking to him, but she heard a sound in the hallway. "Someone's coming." Her foot dropped back to the bed and she lay still, waiting to see who was coming.

The door opened and she sighed when Kathy wandered in again. This time she was carrying a glass of water. _Oh, thank God._ Emily didn't realize how thirsty she was until she saw that glass. Emily sat up and Kathy tipped the drink into her mouth.

After Emily drank from it, she smiled gratefully.

"Cyrus is planning a mass suicide," she said without preempt.

Kathy stared at her in stunned silence.

"You made that 911 call," Emily said.

"This is all my fault. None of this would've happened if I wouldn't of made that call," Kathy said in distress.

Emily shook her head and tried to calm the poor woman down. "You were trying to protect your daughter."

"There were other girls before Jessie. He … he would marry the in secret and after a while he'd take another and we weren't permitted to speak of it. And so when she asked for my consent I wanted to just take her and run, but I was afraid that she wouldn't leave him," Kathy said as her deepest worries came to voice.

"You wanted us to take her," Emily said, realizing why she made the call.

"I … I wanted to save her from Cyrus," Kathy said sadly.

"I can give you another chance. The FBI is coming here at 3am. I need you to gather Jessica, the kids, the other women, get them into the basement just before 3am," Emily stated.

"Why are you telling me this?" Kathy asked as panic stretched across her face.

"Because I have faith that you are a strong enough woman to do the right thing for Jessica," Emily said, praying that Kathy would follow through.

Kathy bit her fingernail in hesitation before she fled the room. Emily collapsed back on to the bed. _Shit! Shit, shit, shit! What the hell am I going to do now?_

(xxxxx)

Emily lay in bed trying to come up with another plan to escape, when the door opened and Kathy appeared again.

"You were right. They're setting the place to blow up," Kathy said as she helped untie Emily from her restraints. "I told Jessie, Cyrus wanted her to gather the women and children."

 _Good girl Kathy! Good girl! Oh, Spencer! What about Spencer?_

"Where is the man I came in with?" Emily asked as they rushed out of the room together.

"He's in the chapel with Cyrus. It's 2:45 though, we've gotta hurry!" Kathy said in a loud whisper.

Emily followed Kathy through a maze of hallways and down a flight of stairs where they ran into a crowd of women and children. When they reached the basement, Emily nearly fell to her knees with joy when she ran into Morgan.

"Emily, Emily, are you alright?" he called as he ran toward her.

It was as if all the energy in her drained at the relief of seeing him. "They wired explosives," she said breathlessly.

"Where's Reid?" Derek asked looking around the crowd.

"In the chapel with Cyrus," Emily stated.

Rossi appeared next to her and placed his arms around her waist to assist her. She tried to turn around and push Rossi away, but he clutched her tightly.

"We've got to get you out of here," he said.

"No, we've got to get Reid!" she cried as she tried to break free from him. _He needs me! I need him!_

"Prentiss, I will get Reid, get out of here! Get to safety! Go! Go now!" Derek ordered her.

It was no use. She was forced to walk with Rossi out of the basement. Suddenly, Kathy began screaming as Jessie ran back into the compound. Emily, again, tried to help, but Rossi and Derek told her no. All she could do now was wait. Wait for the love of her life to survive a suicide mission with a crazy religious fanatical.

(xxxxx)

Spencer stood at the door running through his options. He wasn't sure the women and kids were safe yet. He wasn't sure Emily was safe yet. He had to do something to stall, because Ben was not going to leave here without bloodshed.

"Jeremiah 29:11, I have for you, undeclares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you and to bring you hope and a future. Blowing yourself up is the prosperous future God wants?" Spencer said to a terrified Cole.

Ben looked at him from his post on the other side of the door and scowled. He walked over to face Spencer with a look of anger burning through his eyes.

"You think you know the word better than I?" Ben asked.

"No, I'm just demonstrating that you can use the Bible to manipulate anything," Spencer snipped.

"Matthew 10:24, do not propose that I have come to the Earth to bring peace. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword," Ben said before taking the butt of his rifle and slamming it into Spencer's stomach.

Spencer doubled over in pain.

"You cannot convert my brothers!" Ben snapped before slamming the gun and his elbow into Spencer's gut again.

This time Spencer felt and heard a very loud crack. He knew Ben had broken at least one rib. Spencer slid to the ground as he tried to recover and catch his breath.

"No one had to follow," Ben said as if nothing happened. "God could've stopped me."

With that the sound of gunshots erupted and swat appeared, shooting Cole. Right behind, Derek tore around the corner and shot Cyrus dead.

"He just did," Spencer spat as he grabbed Derek's hand.

"You alright kid?" he asked as he helped Spencer off the ground.

"Fine. Where's Emily?" Spencer said.

"We got her out," Derek said, causing Spencer to nearly cry with relief. Suddenly, Jessie appeared in the room. She looked shocked to see Cyrus dead on the floor.

"Sweetheart come with me, we need to get you out of here. Come on let's go right now," Derek said as he waved his hand toward her.

Spencer could see the look of pure devotion on her face. She wasn't leaving with them. She was going to finish the mission.

"Run!" Spencer screamed as he grabbed Derek by the arm.

They pushed out the front door just as a concussive sound exploded behind them. Derek and Spencer both fell to the ground from the force of the blast. Plaster, glass, and other compound fragments rained down on top of them.

(xxxxx)

Emily stood at the base of the compound shaking as she watched the flames engulf the chapel. _No. No. They got out. They had to have gotten out._

"Reid? Morgan?" she called out. No one responded. "Reid? Morgan?" she said in an almost childlike voice.

Suddenly from out of the smoke and flames, she saw two shadows. Both were coughing and limping. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Spencer moving behind Derek. Spencer was coughing into the sleeve of his jacket as he walked toward her. Without considering protocol, she hobbled up the stairs and straight into Spencer's arms.

And for the first time that she could remember, she openly wept.


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry for the delay. I had to rewrite this chapter a bit. Hope you enjoy_

 _(xxxxx)_

After everyone was cleared from the hospital the team boarded the jet for the flight home. Spencer settled in at the back of the plane to read, while everyone else found a place to curl up and sleep. The stress, fear, and exhaustion had caught up with them all.

Spencer was engrossed in his story, when he saw Emily stepping out from the kitchenette. She gave him a small smile before she sat down across from him. He tried to avoid looking at her because seeing her wounds was a stab to his heart.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he said in return, still not looking at her.

Emily caught him off guard when she reached across the table and took the book out of his hand. Spencer looked at her quizzically as she placed the book down on the table.

"What Cyrus did to me, was not your fault … and I would do it again," she said.

Spencer looked down at his hands. Emily slid her own hand across the table and grabbed ahold of his. "Do you hear me?" she asked.

Spencer chewed on his bottom lip, thinking about what she was saying. He held her hand tightly, enjoying the feeling of her soft hand in his. He rubbed his thumb over her hand as a smile crossed his lips. Emily smiled back at him. She let out a yawn as her pain medicine started to kick in.

"You should go lay down," Spencer said, forgetting they were still holding hands.

"I want to, but I don't know if I can," she said frowning.

He knew that she was still reliving the past three days over and over in her mind. He knew this, because he was suffering from the same thing. It's why he wasn't asleep like everyone else.

"It's also hard to get comfortable with broken ribs," Emily frowned as she tried to find a comfortable position.

"I know the feeling," he said as he placed his free hand on his broken rib.

Emily nodded and pulled her hand from his, when she realized they were still holding hands. Spencer saw Emily blush and he found himself wanting to hold her. He wasn't sure what was going on, but ever since he realized Emily's love for him, he couldn't stop thinking about her.

"Why … why don't you … umm, come sit with me? I can read to you," he suggested shyly.

A small smile crossed Emily's lips as she stood up and moved to sit next to him. She sat down and leaned against his shoulder as he picked up his book and began reading softly to her. Within five minutes of him reading, he felt her grow heavier and her head dropped onto his shoulder.

He glanced at her and saw that she had fallen asleep. Spencer placed the book back down and adjusted himself so he could hold her in his arms, without hurting his ribs or her wounds. As he held her, he felt his heart skip a beat. Could he be falling for her too?

(xxxxx)

Spencer and Emily jolted awake when the plane hit the tarmac. They looked around nervously, but everyone seemed to be waking up from their own slumber and unaware of their closeness. Emily walked off without a word to grab her bag, while Spencer opened his bag to shove his book inside. By the time he had gathered his things and stood up, he and Emily were the last two getting off the plane.

Outside it was dark, but the gentle glow of the tarmac lights lit the way. Emily was climbing down the stairs as Garcia ran to give Derek a hug and Luke a playful slap on the arm. She smiled at the budding romance between the two of them. She was glad Penelope finally seemed to find a man she deserved.

"Are you going to be alright?" Spencer asked Emily, breaking her from her thoughts.

She turned to face him. He was staring intently at her and it made her heart flutter. She opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a shrill voice.

"Spencer, baby! Oh my gosh, I was so worried about you!"

Spencer and Emily turned to see Lacy running towards them. Emily felt her smile drop as Lacy plowed past her and into Spencer's arms. Though, she saw him hesitate at hugging her back and winced as she pressed against his chest.

"Ouch, be careful," he said a bit sharply.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized before gently wrapping her arms around his neck again.

Spencer looked at Emily, who was watching him with sad eyes. She mouthed goodnight and walked off toward her waiting car. She couldn't wait to get out of there and get home. Spencer wanted to push Lacy aside and run after Emily, but he didn't. He just walked off in silence toward Lacy's car with his head down as she rambled about how worried she was.

(xxxxx)

Spencer unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped inside. He walked off grumpily toward his bedroom as Lacy continued to follow him and talk. She hadn't shut up the entire way home. He wasn't even sure half of what she said. All he knew was she was suddenly very annoying to him.

He tossed his go bag on the floor and sat down on the bed to take off his shoes. Lacy climbed on the bed from behind him and began rubbing his shoulders. He felt her lips on his neck.

"Not tonight," he said as he tried to shrug her off.

"But I missed you," she purred behind him.

"Lacy, I have a broken rib, my knee is acting up, and I'm exhausted. I don't want to have sex tonight," he said standing up and walking off toward the bathroom.

He began to tug off his tie when she appeared behind him. She had a pouty face plastered on and he didn't find it sweet or attractive. It was actually pathetic and irritating.

"Don't you like me anymore?" she said in a pretend hurt voice.

"Lacy, don't try to manipulate me. Not after what I've been through," he sighed.

"What you've been through? How about me, Spencer? I'm left at home for three days wondering if my boyfriend is dead or alive. How do you think I feel? You are so self-centered!" she said angrily as she stormed back into the bedroom.

"I'm self-centered? Are you …" he stopped to laugh incredulously. "Are you fucking kidding me? I have been stuck in a hostage situation for three days. I had a gun pointed at my face and threatened to be killed if I didn't admit I was FBI, thank God Emily risked her life or I'd be dead," he began.

"Oh, so this is about Emily? She risked her life for you, so now you want to fuck her? You're just going to leave me for her?" Lacy snapped.

"Do you even hear yourself when you speak? This isn't about Emily and this most certainly isn't about you. It's about _me_! It's about the traumatic event I have suffered and how I just want to come home and try to forget how I was almost killed, but have to deal with my self-absorbed girlfriend throwing a hissy fit cause she can't get what she wants!" he shouted.

Lacy stepped back in surprise. She had never seen Spencer get this angry or stand up for himself. She, suddenly, grinned and moved toward him.

"God, it's so sexy when you get riled up," she said running her hand up his chest.

"Wow, I … oh wow … ok, I need to go. I need some fresh air," he said stunned by her reaction.

He grabbed his wallet and shoved his feet back into his converse shoes.

"What? Don't go!" Lacy pleaded as he walked towards the front door.

"You can stay if you'd like, especially since it's so late, but I won't be back tonight. I'm going to go stay with Derek. Please see yourself out before I come home tomorrow. I need some time to think about this relationship," Spencer said as he opened the door and tried to walk away.

Lacy chased after him, now sobbing.

"Spencer, please I'm sorry. Just come back inside baby. I'll let you sleep. I'll leave you alone," she cried.

"It's too late. I need to cool off," he said as he went down the stairs.

Lacy stopped at the top of the stairs crying hysterically as he continued down toward the lobby.

(xxxxx)

Emily just finished getting ready for bed and sat down on the couch with Sergio.

"Alright, Serge, what should we watch tonight? A sitcom rerun? A talk show? Documentary?" she asked the cat purring on her lap.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. It was too late for a visitor. She slowly got up and walked down the narrow hallway. She peered through the peephole and was stunned to see Spencer pacing in front of her door. She unlocked it quickly and swung the door open.

"Spence, are you …" she started but couldn't finish her sentence.

"I'm sorry, I just … I was going to go to Morgan's, but my mind is all over the place and I know it's late, but I just really needed to see you," he started rambling.

"Spencer, calm down. It's ok. I was just about to watch TV. Come in," she assured him.

Stepping aside, she held her arm out so he would come all the way in. He hesitated a moment, but finally crossed into her apartment, allowing her to shut the door. He nervously shoved his hands into his pockets as he followed her into the living room.

She turned to face him and saw that he looked upset.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yes … no … I don't know," he said running a hand through his short messy hair.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Emily offered.

"Do you like me?" he asked suddenly, causing her jaw to drop a little. "Like more than co-workers or friends." He clarified, though she already knew that's what he meant.

She stared at him wide-eyed and hesitated. She wasn't sure how to express her feelings for him. Especially since he was with Lacy. She didn't know what to say and couldn't seem to find the words, so she reluctantly nodded her head.

"Why now? Why after all this time?" he asked, as if almost upset with her.

"I … I don't know. I can't answer that," she said softly.

"You risked your life for me," he said scrunching his face up in confusion.

"He would have killed you if I hadn't," she replied instantly.

"He could have killed you too!" Spencer said back.

"Yes, but he didn't," she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Why would you do that for me?" he asked.

"Spencer …"

"Why, Emily? I need to know why you gave up your safety to protect me?" he said staring at her intensely.

It was like his eyes were burning through to her soul. She wanted to make up something. Something that sounded like it was just her job, but she couldn't. She couldn't lie to him about something so important.

"Because I'd rather die than live without you," she said barely above a whisper. "Because even if you don't reciprocate, I love you and knowing you are safe and happy is enough for me."

Spencer looked down at his feet trying to control his emotions. Emily stepped forward and tried to reach for him.

"Spence, it's ok. I know you don't feel the same way and there is no pressure to," she said making his head snap up to look at her.

Without another word, Spencer pulled Emily into his body and kissed her. It was full of desperation and hunger. His lips moved against hers as if it were keeping him alive. Forgetting about her injuries, he got a little too rough, making her gasp in pain. He immediately stopped.

"I'm sorry, I forgot, I'm sorry," he apologized.

"It's ok, I know you didn't mean to and God knows I don't want to stop, but I think we need to," she said frowning. "We've been through something very traumatic and I don't want to do anything on impulse."

He leaned forward and gently kissed her. She was so different than Lacy. So considerate and so selfless.

"You're right," he said, though his tight pants disagreed.

He stepped back as if he was ready to leave.

"You could stay with me … If you wanted," she said.

He saw the fear of rejection in her eyes. He lifted his hand and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"There's nothing I want more," he said giving her another quick kiss.

Emily took his hand and led him to the bedroom, where they spent the night holding each other.


	8. Chapter 8

_Short chapter, but wanted to get something out. Thanks for the comments! xoxox_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer's eyes fluttered open when he felt someone move against him. For a moment, he thought it was Lacy, but when he breathed in he could smell Emily. Her skin smelled like Vanilla and her hair like shampoo. It was intoxicating. He felt himself hardening and started to panic.

"Well, good morning to you too," Emily said as she pressed her bottom into his erection.

"Emily," Spencer moaned his warning.

"I know. I'm sorry," she said moving a safe distance away and turning to face him.

They stared at one another in silence. Both with a look of content and happiness written on their features.

"Did you sleep well?" Spencer said breaking the silence.

"The best I've ever slept," she said smiling at him.

"Me too," he responded with a slight blush.

"You know we have to get up for work, right?" Emily said as she linked her fingers with his.

"Yea, but I don't want to," he said pulling her hand to his lips.

He placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. His lips so soft and warm. Emily let out a sigh.

"Neither do I," she whispered.

Spencer scooted closer and ran his fingers through Emily's messy morning hair. Their eyes holding on to each other as if this were the last moment they'd be together again. Spencer slowly lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss began to intensify as Emily tangled her hand in his hair and pulled him as close to her as possible. Their tongues battling one another in a desire to be one. Emily groaned when both of their cell phones made noise. Spencer pulled away with a smile and reached over to grab his phone.

"Looks like we are needed," he said.

"Off to save the world," Emily responded as she rolled out of bed.

"I need to go home and get my things. Are you … is that ok?" Spencer asked nervously.

He didn't want her to think he was running out on her.

"Absolutely, I'll see you at the office," she said from the doorway of the bathroom.

He smiled at her and walked over to give her another kiss.

"See you in a bit," he said before he turned and walked off.

(xxxxx)

Spencer opened the door to his apartment and walked inside. He nearly jumped when he saw Lacy pop up from the couch. He frowned at the sight of her.

"You're not supposed to be here," he said instantly becoming angry again.

Lacy followed him to the bedroom.

"Look, I know you're mad at me, but … well we need to talk," she said as he shoved some clothes into his go-bag.

"I have a case, so it'll have to wait," he said.

"It can't wait, Spencer," she said placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, isn't that too bad for you because I won't be here to listen," he said as he stormed past her to go brush his teeth.

Lacy watched him as her eyes seethed with anger. She was breathing heavily, seeming to contemplate her next words. As Spencer bent over to spit out the toothpaste, she spoke words that made his blood run cold.

"I'm pregnant."


	9. Chapter 9

_I'm trying to update as soon as possible. I'm in the process of moving, so I have between work and unpacking boxes, I don't get a lot of free time. Thank you for the comments – the always inspire! xoxox_

 _(xxxxx)_

Emily walked into the office with a bounce in her step. It felt so good to know that Spencer felt the same way that she did. She could still feel his lips on hers. She wasn't one for sharing her romance stories with anyone, but for some reason she wanted to shout it from the rooftops. Of course, she knew their relationship was frowned upon and could potentially mean their separation of units, so she wouldn't tell a soul.

She dropped into a seat next to Derek and waited for the briefing to begin. J.J. wandered in only seconds later with Luke a step behind her. They all smiled and said their good mornings to one another, when Hotch and Penelope walked in.

"Hold on to your hats kids, we are heading to the windy city," Penelope said as she turned the big screen on.

"Wait, where's Reid?" Emily asked in confusion.

"He had a family emergency to attend to. He'll be sitting out this case," Hotch said. "Continue."

Penelope started the briefing, but Emily zoned out. A family emergency? What had happened between the time he left her house and arrived at his house. Was it his mother? The second everyone stood and started leaving the room, Emily turned on her phone to send Spencer a text.

 _E: Everything alright? Is it your mom?_

She busied herself gathering her belongings. It wasn't until she found a seat on the jet, that she felt her cell phone vibrate.

 _S: Mom is fine. I can't talk right now._

Emily felt her heart drop. After the intimacy they shared last night, she felt him pushing her away. Maybe when he left her house, he realized it was a bad idea. Maybe he was filled with regret. Her mind raced with worry and insecurity. She hoped he would call her soon and tell her what was wrong.

(xxxxx)

It had been three long days searching for their unsub. Three long days that Emily didn't hear from Spencer. Not once. He didn't respond to text messages. He didn't respond to phone calls. She felt sick. Telling him her feelings had blown up in her face. Just like it always did. This was exactly why she compartmentalized things. Nothing good ever comes from being honest about your feelings.

Part of her wanted to drive over to his apartment and demand that he talk to her, but she wasn't that person. She wouldn't make him talk to her if he wasn't interested, and clearly, he wasn't interested.

"Hey Prentiss, you up for some drinks?" Derek called from his car as they walked away from the jet.

"No, I'm exhausted. I just want to curl up in my own bed and go to sleep," she replied.

"Suit yourself, see you later," he said climbing into his car.

Truth was, Emily was mentally and emotionally exhausted. She felt like she had been run over by a truck. The last thing she needed was to drink too much and do something stupid. When she got home, she stripped down and climbed into a hot bath. She was just starting to relax and close her eyes when she heard knocking at her door.

She groaned in frustration. Who the hell was bothering her? It better not be Derek or J.J. or Penelope trying to drag her out against her will. She slipped out of the tub and threw a towel around herself. She walked into the next room as the person knocked again.

"I'm coming, hold on," she called out in irritation.

She didn't even look to see who it was. She just unlocked the door and swung it open. She was caught off guard to see Spencer standing before her. His eyes grew wide and he looked up toward the ceiling. She could see his cheeks reddening.

"Spencer? What are you doing here?" she asked confused.

"I know you're probably mad at me for ignoring you the past three days, but I wanted to talk to you and not over the phone," he said nervously, still avoiding eye contact.

"Well, this sounds like a great conversation," she sighed. "Come on in."

She moved aside and he walked into her apartment. He walked over to her couch and stood awkwardly waiting for her.

"So, what's up?" she asked.

"Umm, could you … could you maybe get dressed?" he stuttered. "I … you're making me … it's kind of distracting."

Emily rolled her eyes, but went to her bedroom to throw on some clothes. In moments, she returned wearing a t-shirt and shorts. She walked over to the couch and sat down, gesturing for him to do the same.

"So, what's up?" she asked again.

He sat down and rubbed his hands nervously on his pants. She could see him trying to figure out the right words to say.

"Spencer, look, let's not beat around the bush. I know that you've had second thoughts about us being together. I won't hold you to anything we said or did together a few nights ago, ok?" she started.

"Emily, no. No that's not it at all," he said waving his hands in protest at her.

Emily furrowed her brow and shook her head. "Then, I don't understand."

"I like you a lot, Emily. I want to be with you more than anything," he said frowning.

"I sense a but," she said bracing herself for the reason.

Spencer licked his lips, which Emily loved, and looked down at the floor in sadness. He looked absolutely broken by whatever was holding them back.

"Is it because of work?" she asked.

Spencer shook his head no, still fighting for the right words to say.

"Is it because I'm older than you?"

Spencer took a deep breath. "Lacy is pregnant," he said looking up at her.

Emily stared into his terrified and distressed eyes. Her jaw had dropped as the weight of the news sunk in. She looked away from him and tried to deal with the range of emotions flying through her body at the moment.

She knew why he was doing this. Spencer was an honorable man. She knew that he grew up without a father and would never leave his child fatherless. She, also, knew how old fashioned his thinking was, due to the old school way his mother raised him. He wouldn't leave Lacy to fend for herself. He would man up and become the husband she, didn't deserve, and the father, the child did deserve.

"Emily."

She looked up to see Spencer looking at her. It killed her to see how sad he was. This sort of news should be a joyous occasion. Emily sucked in her pride and plastered a smile onto her face.

"Congratulations, Spence. You are going to be a great father," she said, though her voice trembled giving away her true feelings. "And husband."

With that, she stood up and fake coughed.

"I … uh … I'm going to go finish my bath. You can lock the bottom knob and see yourself out. I'll see you later," she said as she felt herself breaking down.

"Emily, wait," Spencer called after her.

"Goodnight," she said shutting her bedroom door.

She leaned against the door and covered her mouth as the tears poured from her eyes. She got a little taste of Heaven and it was stolen away from her. For good. That night, for the first time since she could remember, she cried herself to sleep.

(xxxxx)

The mind is cruel. Emily dreamed of Spencer that night. Of them making love and having a child of their own. She woke up in a worse mood than she had been the night before. She loaded herself up with caffeine and went in to work with a wall up that could rival the Great Wall of China.

She sat down at her desk, completely ignoring everyone, especially Spencer. She could feel his eyes burning through her, but she refused to look at him. She wasn't mad at him. Not at all. His sense of right and wrong was one of the things she loved about him.

Most of the morning was silent. Everyone must have sensed something was off, because no one talked or goofed around. They all sat doing their paperwork, saying nothing to one another. It was around lunch time, when Lacy appeared in the office.

Emily had to close her eyes and count to twenty. She wanted to rip off her shoe and beat the living pulp out of Lacy. Figured the world's worst human being would get to marry the world's best human being. It was like Earth's cruel joke. Somewhere destiny and fate were having a good old laugh at Emily's expense. Perhaps she deserved this for all of her years of breaking men's hearts. She didn't deserve Spencer any more than Lacy did.

"Spencey, look what I bought today," she said trotting toward him in her stilettos.

 _I hope you fall._

Emily watched with a disgusted look on her face. Spencer grabbed the bag that Lacy was holding out for him. He pulled out a t-shirt and stared blankly at the front of it. His face did not show amusement. In fact, he looked a bit upset.

"I got one too!" Lacy said holding her shirt up.

Emily saw that her's said 'Bun in the Oven.' She wondered what Spencer's said.

"Wait y'all … are having a baby?" Derek asked in shock as he caught a glimpse of Lacy's shirt.

"Yes!" Lacy squealed. "Isn't that exciting?"

Derek looked at Luke who looked at him with no expression. They must've been reading each other's minds. They both looked toward Spencer.

"I thought we could wear these for the birth announcements," Lacy said grinning.

"Lacy, I didn't want to tell anyone yet," Spencer said softly, but angrily.

"Why? Aren't you excited to be a dad?" she asked frowning.

"I just wasn't ready to tell anyone," he said again.

"I get it. You don't want this baby. That's fine, that's just fine. I'll just raise this baby on my own!" she said working up tears and storming out of the room with her shirt balled in her hand.

Emily wanted to punch her manipulative mouth. She was low balling Spencer and she fucking knew it! How could he be so damn smart and yet not see how this woman was using him.

Spencer was bright red as he ran after Lacy. His shirt sitting on his desk. Derek got up and held the shirt up for Luke and Emily to see.

"The Baker," Luke read out loud. "Is it just me or is she a little …" he trailed off.

"Bat shit crazy?" Emily supplied.

"I was going to say a bit much," Luke said looking at Emily intently.

Emily just shrugged and pretended to go back to her paperwork. In reality, she was still trying to process everything happening. Lacy was rubbing this in her face. There was no reason to come down here and announce the birth like that. She did it to torture Emily.

"Hey Prentiss, you alright? You look a little green," Derek said breaking her thoughts.

Emily looked up to see him and Luke staring at her. She placed her hand to her stomach and scrunched her face in pretend pain.

"I haven't been feeling so well. I hope I didn't catch anything," she lied.

"I hope you didn't catch that stomach bug that's been going around. I heard it's brutal," Derek stated.

"Great, just what I need. You know what, I think I'm going to call it a day and go home early. I better keep an eye on this before it gets worse and I miss a case," she said clearing off her desk.

"Probably a good idea. It's not like we're busy today," Luke said, though she could tell he didn't believe her.

Emily gave them both a weary smile.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, hopefully," she said, placing crossed fingers on her stomach.

With that she walked off to ask Hotch for use of sick time. Hotch, of course, gave her his approval and wished her well. She nodded and walked out of his office. While she waited for the elevator, she heard someone call out her name. She turned to see Spencer walking toward her.

"Emily, wait. Morgan said you're sick?" he asked eyeing her suspiciously.

"Yea, possible stomach bug," she lied, turning back to face the elevator.

"I'm sorry," he said. "About Lacy. That was really uncalled for. I told her that she shouldn't have done that."

"Spencer, it's fine. I'm fine," she said briskly as the elevator doors opened. "I'll see you tomorrow." She pressed the button for the lobby and stared at the floor.

"Emily, I'm sorry," he said again.

She looked up just in time to see his heartbroken stare. She looked away as the doors closed.


	10. Chapter 10

_Alright, fair warning – this one contains adult content – I'd skip the ending if you don't like that type of thing._

 _Love the comments! Some of your comments even made me laugh out loud. xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

It had been three weeks since the announcement of Spencer's baby to be. As much as they all tried to be happy for him, no one could. They could see he was miserable and Lacy was becoming overbearing, showing up unannounced, calling constantly.

Her spoiled brat, diva behavior was becoming more evident amongst the group. After a pow wow, it was decided that Derek would try to talk to Spencer. Maybe they could save him from making a big mistake.

It was a cold rainy, October morning when Derek found Spencer making himself a cup of coffee in the breakroom.

"How you doin' kid?" Derek asked as he walked in and leaned against the counter.

"I'm fine," Spencer replied staring into his coffee as he stirred it.

"How are things with Lacy?" he asked.

Spencer sighed. "She's moving in with me next week," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Reid, this is none of my business, but you are miserable man. Why are you doing this? You know you can still be there for the child and not be with her," Derek said.

"No, this is my responsibility. I chose to sleep with her and now I have to own up to it," Spencer said, more to himself than Derek.

"Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Do you even love her?"

"It doesn't matter," Spencer said sadly.

"Yes, it does matter! It matters a lot! You deserve happiness just like anyone else," Derek said, getting more riled up.

"I will not abandon my child," Spencer started.

"No one is asking you to abandon your child! You can still be there for your child, Reid. Forcing yourself into a marriage will be detrimental in the long run," Derek insisted.

"Morgan, I appreciate your concern, but it's what I have to do," he said dejected.

Derek frowned. He knew how stubborn Spencer was when he had his mind set.

"Look, no matter what, I'm always here for you little brother. I will always support you," Derek said softly.

"I know," Spencer smiled, but tears filled his eyes and his voice cracked.

"Hey guys, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have case," J.J. said poking her head into the room.

Derek patted Spencer on his back as he walked out of the room with him.

(xxxxx)

The team had separated to find the unsub that had been terrorizing a small town in Kentucky with random shootings. It was discovered that he was a local recently divorced man, whose ultimate end game was to murder his wife. He hoped the random shooting sprees would make it look like his ex-wife was just another victim.

Emily, Luke, and Rossi ran into the house to search for the man, while Spencer, Derek, and Hotch went to check the barn and shed behind the house. It wasn't long into their search that Luke's voice rang over the com-link.

"We've got him, second story bedroom, he has Prentiss as hostage."

Spencer's heart stopped. Emily was in danger. In an uncharacteristic move, Spencer took off at a faster run than Hotch and nearly Derek. He had to get to her. The front door of the house opened and the sound of gunshots rang out.

Spencer pushed past Derek, who had stopped at the sound, running up the stairs two at a time. By the time, he reached the top of the stairs he heard "all clear. Suspect down." He still needed to see it for himself.

Rossi passed by Spencer giving him a pat on the shoulder. Spencer walked forward and peered into the bedroom. The unsub lay dead in a pool of blood, Luke stood over him, while Emily stood perfectly healthy next to him.

She looked at Spencer and saw the panic and relief in his eyes. She walked toward him. She wanted to say something to ease his mind, but all she could do was give him a small smile.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yea, I'm fine," she responded before walking past him and out of the room.

(xxxxx)

Emily had just climbed out of the shower and put on her night dress when there was a knock at her door. She walked over and looked out the peephole to see Spencer standing there. She opened the door and let him in.

"Hey," she started, but she was silenced by Spencer's lips on hers.

He kissed her feverishly as she gave in and kissed him back. She could feel his fear, his worry with every movement and touch. His hands were tangled in her hair as he tried to pull her closer. Emily let her hands roam lower until she untucked his shirt from his pants.

There was no hesitation on his end, so she pulled it higher until they broke their kiss long enough for him to shed his shirt. Spencer grabbed Emily and lifted her up into his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist.

Spencer carried her to the bed and laid her down without breaking their kiss. His hands ran up her leg as she curled it around him. Guiding his body between her legs. She could feel his hardness through his pants as it pressed against her wet panties.

Slowly moving her hands down his body, she reached his pants and unbuttoned them. She worried he would change his mind, but instead he responded by pulling her nightgown up. Emily sat up enough to allow Spencer to pull it over her head and toss it on the floor.

Spencer stared at her body in awe, making Emily blush. Nobody ever took the time to examine her before. It was always about the fuck and nothing else. This was different. This was so much more and she couldn't even qualify this as a fuck. For the first time in her life, Emily was about to make love, something she never felt appropriate with anyone before.

She closed her eyes as Spencer's hands roamed her nearly naked body. She felt his lips against her burning hot skin. Each kiss was like a confession. He was savoring each kiss, each lick, each nip of her. It was intoxicating. Emily eventually let out a moan when his mouth reached her nipple.

She ran her fingers through his hair, squirming beneath his touch. He made a trail back up to her lips where Emily practically attacked him. She gently bit on his lower lip, eliciting a small groan from him. Emily reached down and unzipped Spencer's pants. She didn't need to assist him as he quickly shed the pants and briefs without her.

Emily grabbed his throbbing member in her hand and slid her hand up and down it. He moaned at her touch. Pressing his head into her shoulder, momentarily distracted. He quickly regained his thoughts and pulled Emily's panties off.

He wanted to be inside of her so bad, but he also wanted to make sure she was ready. If she wasn't, it could be painful for her. He slid his finger across her folds and was surprised at how wet she was. He looked up at her in surprise and she smiled. As he pushed his finger inside of her, he pressed his lips on hers.

Emily writhed below him as he teased her with his touch. He added a second finger as she continued to stroke him. They were both moaning in pleasure when Emily whispered, "make love to me please."

Without further thought, Spencer climbed on top of Emily completely and slowly guided himself into her. Her body resisted a bit at first, but it only took two good pushes to get all the way inside. They both cried out at the feeling of becoming one. Spencer didn't move for a moment. He just relished the feeling of her walls holding tightly to his dick.

"I thought I was going to lose you today," he suddenly whispered.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," she said running her hand across his cheek and into his hair.

"I love you Emily," he said staring deep into her eyes.

She stared back as tears filled her eyes. Spencer wiped away the tear that slid down her cheek.

"I love you too," she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

Spencer kissed her passionately as they moved together. His thrusting was gentle, allowing them both to enjoy the moment. They weren't rushing it, though the build up to completion wasn't going to take long. Spencer felt Emily tightening around him, so he moved faster.

Emily held tightly to his shoulders, occasionally biting his skin in an effort not to scream. He continued to press and pound against her favorite spot, making her feet curl and her back arch. She muffled her cries against his skin. Spencer had to fight the urge to come before her. He wanted Emily to get pleasured first.

"I'm almost there," she whispered to him.

"Go ahead baby, let go," he whispered back.

The use of the word baby coming from his mouth was enough. She sighed and moaned as her release exploded around him. Spencer moved quicker now as Emily tried to regain her breath, within seconds he groaned in ecstasy and she felt the warmth inside her, pushing her into a second orgasm.

Spencer laid on top of Emily. Their hearts pounding against each other. Their skin cool and wet from sweat. Neither of them wanted to move. Moving would mean separation. They wouldn't be one anymore.

After a few moments, Spencer rolled off of Emily and dropped onto his back. Emily sat up and grabbed the blanket pulling it over the two of them. She laid her head on the crook of Spencer's arm as he traced light circles along her back.

"That was amazing," Spencer said when he'd regained his breath.

Emily nodded. "It was," she sighed happily.

"I'm going to have to go back to my room at some point," he said sounding disappointed.

"I know, but not yet. Just hold me," she said snuggling closer.

Spencer pulled her closer and placed a kiss on the top of her head. They both held tightly to one another until they both fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

_Took me a bit to figure out what direction I wanted to go in. There were two ways this was going to go - hope you enjoy. Can't wait to read your comments! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Thump, thump, thump. Emily's eyes fluttered open. She couldn't figure out what that sound was. All she knew was she was warm and happy.

Thump, thump, thump. Everything came flooding back to her and she nearly fell out of bed, when her and Spencer popped up in a panic.

"Shit," Spencer whispered as he slipped out of bed trying to gather his things. "Shit, shit, shit."

"Here," Emily said throwing his briefs and pants to him.

He caught them and ran straight to the bathroom.

"Hang on, I'm coming," Emily called out.

She threw her night dress back on and opened the door a crack. Derek and Luke stood outside the door looking at her inquisitively.

"Took you long enough," Derek said with a teasing attitude.

"I was getting ready to shower," she said rolling her eyes.

"You were getting ready to shower, so you didn't hear us pounding on the door?" Derek asked eyeing her out.

She could tell they were on to her. She hoped they would drop it and go.

"What do you want, other than to annoy me?" she asked.

"We are heading out in 20 minutes. Hotch wants everyone to meet in the lobby," Luke said.

"Alright, message delivered. Now go. Quite wasting my 20 minutes," Emily said as she started to shut the door.

Derek's hand palmed the door, stopping it from shutting. Emily looked at him startled.

"Reid, you heard that, right? 20 minutes, lobby," Derek called with a smirk.

Luke tried to hold back his laughter as Emily stared at him in shock. She looked back at the bathroom and back at Derek, her eyes wide. Derek winked at her before he and Luke walked away laughing together.

Emily slowly closed the door and Spencer's head popped out of the bathroom. He was dressed, but didn't fully step out until he was sure they were alone.

"They know?" he said.

"Apparently," Emily said rubbing her face with her hands.

Spencer stood nervously chewing on his bottom lip.

"I should probably go," he said.

"Yea," Emily agreed.

"I'll see you in a bit," he said as he walked past her.

Emily nodded and watched him go. She hoped that only Luke and Derek knew, but how long would they keep their mouths shut if they hadn't already blabbed. This could get messy real quick.

(xxxxx)

When Emily reached the lobby, she saw Derek talking with J.J. and Luke talking with Hotch. She couldn't grab Luke without suspicion, so she walked over to Derek.

"Hey, can we talk a sec?" she said smiling brightly.

J.J. stepped away to chat with Hotch and Luke. Emily grabbed Derek roughly by the arm and pulled him further away from big ears.

"How did you know?" Emily asked in a hushed voice.

"Prentiss, we're profilers," Derek said grinning. Emily folded her arms across her chest and stared at him. "And I saw him go into your room last night. I may have passed by and considered joining the party when I heard some …" he trailed off wiggling his eyebrows.

Emily slapped him on the arm. "And you told everyone?" she said angrily.

"No, I didn't tell everyone. Your room was attached to Alvez's you dunce. He came storming out to ask his neighbors to keep it down. When I told him who it was, he decided to let you finish. You owe him a thank you," Derek said jokingly.

Emily's face blushed at the thought of being heard by her co-workers. She hoped they wouldn't ride Spencer too hard about it. She knew he would be mortified and he'd been humiliated enough throughout his life.

Just then, Spencer walked into the lobby with Rossi. He looked in their direction and his eyes immediately dropped to the floor. His cheeks turned red. Emily turned to Derek once more.

"Please don't tell anyone, Derek," she said with pleading eyes.

"Emily, look, I am thrilled for you and Reid. Seriously. That Lacy chick … she's going to drag him down. You … you complement him. You bring out the best in him," Derek said. "We've all seen it for some time, it was just a matter of you two figuring it out. That being said, I don't want to put any unnecessary bumps in your relationship. You have my word."

Emily smiled at him, but then frowned.

"You really think everyone knows?" she asked.

"I don't think everyone knows you got together last night, but I know everyone sees how much you care about each other. We've talked about it many times when you guys weren't around," he said grinning.

"Are you kidding me?" she said looking over at Spencer who was laughing with J.J.

"You know how we all know Luke is sweet on Penelope?" he said.

Emily thought about it for moment. "Well, shit."

Derek laughed and clapped his hand on her back as they walked over to join the group. A few minutes later they left to board the jet.

(xxxxx)

After everyone had left the airstrip, Emily and Spencer climbed back out of their cars to talk.

"I talked to Derek, he promised he wouldn't say anything," she told him.

"Luke told me the same thing," he said. "Then asked for details."

"Figures," Emily said rolling her eyes. "You didn't say anything, did you?" she wondered. He didn't seem like the type to brag about his sexual encounters, but if it kept him from being the object of their teasing, maybe he would.

"No! God, no! That's between you and me. I wouldn't share you with anyone, so why would I share our personal moments with others?" he said almost appalled that she had thought he would.

Emily smiled at him. His words always seemed to make her feel like a school girl again. She was never a blusher, but damn it, if his sensitivity didn't melt her walls.

"So," Emily said looking down at her feet. "What do we do now?"

"Well, I guess I need to go home and break things off with Lacy," he said.

Emily wrapped her arms around his neck as he placed his hands on her hips.

"Call me tomorrow?" she said.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Unlike the previous night, this kiss was slow, deliberate, and gentle. When they parted, Emily smiled shyly, which was unusual for her. He loved this vulnerable side of her.

"Goodnight Emily," Spencer said as he watched her walk back to her car.

She stopped and turned around.

"Goodnight."

(xxxxx)

Spencer opened the door to his apartment and noticed right away that his lights were on. He sighed, wishing he didn't have to deal with this tonight. He walked into the bedroom to find Lacy sitting in a negligee smiling at him. He furrowed his brow at her.

"How did you know I was coming home?" he asked, as he hadn't texted her.

"I activated the find my iPhone app on your phone. I know where you are at all times if I want," she said as if it weren't the most possessive and creepiest thing to say. "How was the case?"

"Uh, fine," he said startled by her admission.

"I've been so excited for you to come home. I have a surprise for you," she said digging into her nightstand.

"Lacy, I think we need to talk," he said as he placed his bag on a nearby chair.

"First, open your gift," she said handing him an envelope.

Spencer stared at her extended hand hesitantly. He slowly reached out and took the envelope from her. She sat by watching him with a smile on her face. Spencer opened the envelope and pulled out pictures of a sonogram.

"It's our baby! Look how cute, she looks like a peanut," she said excitedly.

Spencer stared at the photo in stunned silence. His heart pounding with a mixture of emotion. That little peanut was his child. He created that being, but God, he didn't want it to be coming from Lacy.

"You said she?" he said barely above a whisper. "Isn't it too early to tell?"

"A mother always knows, Spencer," she said rolling her eyes.

He looked at her suspiciously. "Where did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" she asked frowning at him.

"That saying, a mother always knows," he asked.

"Spencer, are you alright? You are acting really strange tonight. Maybe you should lie down," Lacy suggested as she stood up to guide him toward the bed.

He let her move him and sat down onto the bed. The pictures of the baby still clutched in his hands. Before he knew what was happening, Lacy had straddled his lap and pulled his mouth to hers. He tried to pull away, but she just moved down his neck.

"Lacy, stop. We need to talk," he said as he tried to push her off of him.

"No talking," she said pulling his finger into her mouth.

"Stop, I'm serious," he said as he squirmed to get up.

He was finally able to get out from under her. He jumped to his feet and put distance between them. Lacy sat on the bed glaring at him.

"Lacy, I'm sorry. I can't do this," he said.

"Sex won't hurt the baby," she said still staring him down.

"No, this," he gestured. "Us. I can't do this with you anymore. I will be there to help with the baby and I will support you both in any way I can, but I don't want to be with you," he said.

If looks could kill, Spencer would have burst into flames. What caught him completely off guard was the smile that suddenly crossed her lips.

"That doesn't work for me. See I want you and whether you like it or not you're going to stay with me. I have a lot of connections, Spencer. When I don't get what I want, I get angry and when I get angry people get hurt," she said raising her eyebrow.

"I know where everyone you care about lives. I know how to get to them and how to make it look like an accident. Most importantly, I know what you and Emily have done. Believe me when I say that if she gets in my way, I will take her out of the picture for good," she slowly stood up from the bed.

"You make your choice, but it had better be a choice you can live with," she sauntered out of the bedroom. Stopping to poke her head back in the room. "By the way, you probably won't want to mention this to anyone on your team. I know a lot about them as well and I'm more than willing to play God with their lives too."

Spencer stood in the bedroom, mouth gapping in stunned silence. His dream of finally being with Emily was dissolving around him. This was going to destroy her, but he had to. He couldn't risk her safety. He'd rather live the rest of his life miserable, than live his life without Emily.


	12. Chapter 12

_First off – thank you so much for the amazing comments! It really makes me feel good and inspires me to continue writing._

 _Second, this story has been so fun to write as it has changed so much from the original plan I had. I've kind of enjoyed making this awful character … but don't worry because I love Spencer so much more … justice will be served_

 _Thanks for reading! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Emily had anxiously awaited Spencer's call all morning, but he never called. She tried not to feel disappointed, because she knew that he'd have a good reason. She'd see him at work in a bit and he would explain. Everything would be fine.

Or so she thought.

Emily sat at her desk chewing nervously on her fingernails as she waited for Spencer's arrival. Derek and Luke were hard at work, Rossi and Hotch were in a meeting, and J.J. took the morning off to go to Henry's school for a field trip.

After looking up for the 9th time towards the glass doors, she saw him. Her heart skipped a beat and her stomach fluttered with butterflies. She tried to hide her excitement, but it slowly faded the closer he got. He was staring at the floor and he looked … distraught?

She watched as he wandered to his desk, sat down, pulled out some files, and stared at them without one glance her way. Emily looked around the office, but nobody seemed to notice. She looked at Spencer again, hoping he would look at her, but he didn't.

She felt her body deflate. Something was wrong.

She waited all day for him to get up and get coffee, but he was clearly avoiding moving from his desk. Lunchtime finally rolled around and the group started throwing out ideas for lunch. Emily's stomach was growling, but she was only going if Spencer went. If he didn't go, it would give her time to talk to him.

"Reid, Prentiss, you coming?" Derek asked.

Emily glanced at Spencer who was practically in the same position he'd been in since he stepped foot in the office.

"No," Spencer said.

Emily looked at Derek and shook her head apologetically. He shrugged and walked off with Luke, Garcia, and J.J. Emily was trying to think of what to say, when Spencer spoke up.

"You should go eat," he said not looking at her.

"I'm not hungry," she lied.

"I can hear your stomach growling from here," he said.

"I … I didn't want to go without you," she said hesitantly. She glanced around the office, but nobody was within earshot.

"Emily, you can't skip meals. It isn't good for your health," he responded.

She looked down nervously at her papers and took a deep breath.

"Is everything alright?" she said softly. He didn't answer her. "You never called," she said.

Spencer finally seemed to acknowledge the conversation. He placed his pen down on the table and ran his hands across his face and through his hair. He still avoided looking up at her.

"Spencer, what's going on?" Emily said with a furrowed brow.

"You need to stay away from me," he said finally looking up at her. His face hard with anger and tears welled up in his eyes.

"What?" she said in shock.

He blinked furiously as a tear slipped from his eye. He swallowed hard and looked at her again.

"I'm with Lacy. We are having a baby together. I can't be with you," he said in short deliberate sentences.

He grabbed his bag, threw it over his shoulder, and started to walk away.

"Spencer, wait. Please, talk to me. What happened? Did I do something wrong? Don't just walk away from me. If I mean anything to you … anything please don't walk away from me," she said trying hard to not get emotional, but her voice wavered.

Spencer didn't move for a moment. Emily stood waiting for him to turn around and talk to her. Instead he dropped his head and left the office. Leaving Emily, dejected and broken.

(xxxxx)

Spencer stormed into his house and angrily threw his bag to the floor. He leaned on the couch as tears streamed down his cheeks. With an angry howl, he picked up the closest lamp and tossed it across the room. It shattered onto the floor.

"Well, you're home early. Is that little welcome for me?"

Spencer glared at his bedroom doorway to see Lacy smirking at him. He was not a violent person, but at that moment all he wanted to do was choke her. This evil, vile woman who was destroying his life and he didn't even know why.

"I take it you broke things off with Emily?" she stared at him innocently.

He ground his teeth together and clenched his jaw. Trying so hard not to explode at this she-devil.

"Good choice, dear. Why don't you make us some lunch and we can watch TV together," she said smiling at him.

He stayed with his hands leaning against the couch, looking at her with pure hatred.

"You've already gotten your wish. You want a sandwich, go make your own," he practically growled at her.

"Well someone is a grumpy pants today," she said walking toward him. "I know how to make that better."

She reached for his crotch, but he moved out of the way.

"Don't touch me. You may have me, but you will never _have_ me," he said.

Lacy started laughing as she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. Spencer continued to stand his ground and stare her down. He wasn't going to be her puppet. It was bad enough he just destroyed Emily.

"You are so sexy when you get all riled up. It's a shame your team doesn't have more faith in you. You are actually a lot more badass than they think," she said scrunching up her lips in pretend pity.

"Don't talk about my team," he said.

She waved her hand dismissively. "I changed my mind about lunch. I would rather just watch you eat," she said grinning mischievously.

"I'm not hungry," he growled.

"Oh, silly Spencer. I'm not talking about food," she said as she sat seductively on the back of the couch.

He gave a small laugh. "Oh you must be kidding yourself if you think I'm going anywhere near you. I wouldn't have sex with you again, if you were the last woman on earth," he said.

Lacy's facial expression turned hard as she stared at him. She slid off the couch and walked closer to him.

"I don't think you understood the message I sent you regarding how this is going to work. If I want a fucking sandwich, you'll make me a fucking sandwich. If I want you to suck my pussy, you'll suck my pussy. If you don't do what I say, bad things will happen," she said through her teeth.

Her eyes were dark and threatening. He wanted to call her bluff, but at the same time, was it worth the risk. Spencer continued his stare down with her, until she finally stepped back.

"I don't think you get the seriousness of this Spencer. I'll see you …" she glanced at her watch, looked up at the ceiling, and back at him. "In five hours. You will come to that bedroom and you _will_ fuck me."

With that, she turned on her heels and walked off to the bedroom, where she shut the door calmly. Spencer ran his hands through his hair and gave a kick to the table next to the couch. All the contents on top, crashed to the floor. What was he going to do?

(xxxxx)

Emily walked slowly to J.J.'s office. She knocked on the door and poked her head in.

"Hey, sorry to bother you. Do you have a second?" she asked.

"Yea, are you ok?" J.J. said as she sat up attentively in her chair.

"Not really. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell anyone, but your Spencer's best friend and Jayje, I'm really worried about him," Emily said as she sat down in the chair in front of J.J.'s desk.

"Why? What's going on?" J.J. said with concern.

Emily looked hesitantly at J.J.

"Em, what you tell me stays between us," J.J. assured her.

Emily nodded and gave her a small grateful smile. "Two nights ago … Spencer and I … we sort of … slept together," she muttered as she picked her nails nervously.

J.J. seemed a little shocked, but not as much as Emily expected.

"Yesterday, when we got back … he told me that he was going to break things off with Lacy. Today, he came in to the office angry … I don't know if it was at me or not, but he told me to stay away from him. That he was with Lacy, they were having a baby, and to leave him alone. I just … I don't understand what's going on?

"Did I scare him off? I mean, how can he want to be with me one minute and the next … he's telling me to stay away from him," Emily said as everything poured out of her. "The other night, it was real J.J. It wasn't just sex. I would know since that's what most of my encounters were.

"This was more than that. I saw it in his eyes and I felt it," she said choking up as she put her hand to her heart. "Something is wrong and I don't know what to do."

J.J. sat watching her usually strong and unemotional friend, breaking down in front of her. She sat quietly for a moment, taking in everything Emily just told her. Trying to say the right thing.

"I've known Spencer a long time. He's always tried to do the right thing and when he doesn't, it sort of eats away at him. I don't think he's angry at you. It sounds like he's angry at himself. He's probably just overwhelmed with his feelings for you, the guilt of cheating on Lacy, and the responsibility of being a father."

Emily opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. J.J. squinted at her.

"What?" she pressed.

"I … uh … I don't know. I just … do we even know if this is really Spencer's child? That woman is manipulative. What if this is all a lie to keep him roped in?" Emily said.

"Em, that's a pretty big leap. I mean, she's a bit of a diva, but that's crazy," J.J. said shaking her head.

"She threatened me, J.J. and then set me up with Spencer to look like I threatened her. She did it twice! Then when I apologized to her she looked at me and said, 'I won bitch.' You don't think that's crazy?" Emily said getting upset.

"But …"

"What if she's not even pregnant? Has there been any proof?" Emily asked.

"Spence, showed me the sonogram," J.J. replied.

Emily could see the pity in her eyes. She didn't believe Emily. Of course, she wouldn't believe her. Emily was just the jealous side-girl. With that, Emily stood up and stormed out of the office. J.J. tried to run after her.

As they reached the hallway, they ran into a very worried Rossi. They stopped and looked at him questioningly.

"Hotch just received a call that Penelope was in a car accident. We need to head over to the emergency room immediately," he said.

(xxxxx)

Spencer's phone rang. He was sitting on the kitchen floor, staring blankly at the wall. He looked at who was calling and considered ignoring it, but decided against it.

"Morgan, what's up?" he mumbled.

"Reid, Garcia's been a bad wreck man. They just took her in to the E.R.," Derek said.

"What?" Spencer's heart nearly stopped.

He looked up at the clock. 6:23pm. His last talk with Lacy was around 1 o'clock. His mouth felt dry and he felt like he was going to be sick.

"Nobody knows what happened. A jogger was in the park and saw Garcia's car crash into the ditch. She's unconscious," Derek said with a shaky voice.

Spencer couldn't find any words to say. He was shaking. Lacy wasn't kidding. What the hell was going on?

"Are you coming down here?" Derek asked breaking Reid's concentration.

"I … I'll be there in a bit. I need to get this medication to Lacy and then I'll head over. Keep me updated," he said nearly trance like.

"Lacy alright? Is she sick?" Derek asked.

"Yea … she's sick," Spencer said. _She is fucking insane._

"Well, take care of her and we'll see you soon," Derek said not asking more questions.

He was grateful that his mind was too distracted to push further into this. Spencer hung up and slowly walked toward his bedroom. He placed his hand on the door knob and turned it. Lacy was propped up in the bed, with just a bra and panties on.

She looked up at him with a devilish smile.

"Well, look at the time," she said softly.

Spencer stared at her. "What do you want from me?" he said barely above a whisper.

"Right now, I want your tongue right here," she said placing her finger between her legs.

Spencer swallowed hard. "Why are you doing this to me?"

The look on her face sent chills down his spine. It was so evil and so sadistic he was actually terrified of her. She crawled toward the end of the bed, sat on her knees, and crooked her finger calling him to her. He wanted to resist so badly, but he walked toward her until he was at the edge of the bed.

Lacy slid her hands up his body. She slid them over his shoulders and around his neck. She roughly pulled him closer until her lips were hot against his ear.

"You took something from me. Now I'm going to take everything from you," she whispered before biting his earlobe hard enough to draw blood.


	13. Chapter 13

_We are getting closer to revealing why Lacy has been torturing Spencer. I really hadn't planned on going in this direction, it just sort of happened. I also changed the name, because that other title I want to save for a story that has less darkness._

 _I hope you are enjoying it and thanks for the comments!_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer looked terrible. His eyes were darker than normal, his stare distant. He walked into the hospital room where Penelope slept. Everyone else had left for the night, except for Luke who was sleeping in a chair nearby. Spencer tiptoed over to the bed and gently laid his hand on Penelope's.

Her face had cuts and bruises. Her left side had taken the brunt of the injuries. Her left leg was in a cast and she had a bandage around her left arm. This was his fault. If he hadn't pushed Lacy, she wouldn't have done this.

He knew she wanted to destroy him for something he had done, but he didn't know what it was. When he asked her, she just laughed and said, "now is not the time." She forced him to have sex with her. It was awful and the longest fifteen minutes of his life.

He tried to make it better by pretending it was Emily, but he couldn't hold the illusion every time Lacy scratched him roughly, bite his skin, or pulled his hair. It wasn't fun. It was painful and he felt violated.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

With that, he turned and left the room. Penelope's eyes slowly opened as she watched him go. Wondering why he just whispered he was sorry to her.

(xxxxx)

Spencer worked by himself all day, organizing files for Hotch in the conference room. No one bothered him as they were still trying to figure out what was causing him to withdraw. He scribbled some notes in each of the folders. After the final folder, he stood up and carried a stack out of the office. He walked down the stairs and straight to Emily's desk.

"Here, these need to be done," he said and dropped the files in front of her.

She looked at him in confusion. His eyes bore into hers. She was caught off guard for a moment. She watched as he walked to his desk, grabbed his bag, and gave her one more quick look before he left the office.

Emily sighed. The most contact she'd had with him and it was just to add more to her work load. She flipped the folder open and noticed something. The examiner's report was on the top with a bunch of random letters circled.

She looked back up to see him go through the glass doors. He didn't turn back. She looked back down at the file and tried to figure out what Spencer was trying to tell her. She grabbed a notebook and began writing down the letters. RACMYBRNUIILGEODLANTE. She wasn't great at word scrambles.

(xxxxx)

Emily heard the knock on her front door and she rushed to open it. She moved to the side to allow Derek and Rossi into her house.

"What's going on?" Rossi asked with concern.

"Not yet, wait until everyone is here," she said.

Within 10 minutes, everyone had arrived minus Spencer.

"Alright, we're all here. What's up?" Derek asked as he leaned against the back of the couch.

"I think Reid needs our help. Today he dropped a stack of folders on my desk and told me it was mine. He gave me this look, like he was trying to tell me something. I didn't think much of it though until I opened the folder and found this," she said as she handed the paper to Rossi, who was closest to her.

"An M.E. report?" Rossi said looking at her like she was crazy.

"No, look. There are letters circled on there. He's sending us a message. I'm not great at word scrambles, so I need your help," Emily said as the report was passed around. "I've written the letters down on a piece of paper for all of us. We need to get to work."

The team seemed a little skeptical, but they all took the paper and pens. They sat in silence scribbling, scratching, erasing, until 20 minutes later Luke spoke up.

"I got it. It says I'm in trouble, Lacy, Danger," he said holding up his paper.

Everyone looked at the paper Luke held in shock. J.J. had put a hand to her mouth, while Derek now stood up like he was ready to fight.

"We have to do something," Emily said.

"We need to do some investigating into Lacy's background," Derek said.

"But Garcia …" J.J. said frowning.

"What if the accident wasn't on purpose? Penelope told me that last night Reid stopped in to see her. He only stayed a few seconds, but before leaving he told her he was so sorry," Luke said standing up from his chair. "What if Lacy set that accident up, knowing we would need her?"

The room grew silent. Hotch regained composure the quickest.

"Prentiss, Morgan go to Reid's house and check on him. If you can get him away from her, do it. Bring him back to the station for safety. J.J. and Alvez, I want you to go get Kevin. See if he can help us out while Garcia recovers. Rossi and I will head back to the office. The second any of you have information let me know," Hotch said.

Everyone nodded and rushed from the house.

(xxxxx)

Spencer's eyes fluttered open. He had a terrible headache and his vision was blurry. He realized he was sitting on cold concrete that smelled musty. He looked around the room that he decided was probably a basement. He tried to move, but the sound of chains moving caught his attention. He looked to see that he had been cuffed, ankle and wrists, to the wall behind his back.

He couldn't figure out what happened. He tried to bring up the memory. He left work, he drove home, opened his apartment door, and that was where the memory ended. He lifted his hand to touch the back of his head where he felt the most throbbing. He pulled his hand away when he felt the lump.

"Well, look who woke up."

Spencer looked up to see Lacy smiling at him. He wanted to scream vulgarities at her, but he held back and just stared. He knew Emily would figure out he was in trouble. They would find him.

"I suppose you are wondering what's going on?" she said casually walking closer to him. "Well, my darling, as fun as it's been playing with you. I'm bored with it now. So, time to dispose of you."

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"Spencer, the thing is in your line of work some people consider you a hero. Yay for the wonderful F.B.I. They saved the day again. However, there are people out there, like myself, that think you are heartless. You break families apart when you lock up or murder people," she started explaining.

"If they didn't hurt others, we wouldn't have to arrest them. We don't make their decisions, they do. Whatever they get, they deserve because they are vile human beings, such as yourself," he said in a deep, angry tone.

"Who are you to decide who is evil? What gives you the right to judge someone?" Lacy said folding her arms across her chest.

"It's called having morals and a conscience. Having compassion and being able to empathize with others. You lack all of that, so you will never understand," he said.

"You call it compassion that you stole the only person I've ever loved from me? You ruined our life! We could've been happy together and yet you and your stupid ass team came along and destroyed everything!" she said angrily.

"Like I said, they. Deserved. It," he growled, emphasizing each word.

Lacy bit her bottom lip angrily. She walked over to something lying on the table and picked it up. She pressed something on it and the sound of a machine running. He felt the chains grow tighter until he couldn't move his arms or legs.

She, then, grabbed a knife off the table and walked toward him.

"I could kill you now and end it like I planned, but now I have a better idea. I think Emily needs to join us so I can kill her in front of you. Take away your love," she said before she slammed the knife down into his leg.

Spencer screamed out in pain as she pulled the blade back out. He instinctively tried to grab his wound, but he was still chained too tightly. Tears filled his eyes as the pain shot through him. Lacy tossed the knife back onto the table and walked away, leaving him squirming in pain.

(xxxxx)

Hotch and Rossi reached the office just as Hotch's phone rang. He pressed speaker.

"Go ahead Morgan, you're on speaker," he said.

"He's gone. Nothing is out of place, but there is some blood at the entry way," Derek said.

"Hang out there for now. Search for anything that might tell us where he is," Hotch said.

After they hung up with each other, Luke came rushing toward them.

"Lacy Meyers is an alias," he said handing them a sheet of paper. "There are no records of her prior to a year ago."

"Does she have an address?" Hotch asked as Rossi looked over the papers.

"Yes, sir," Luke responded.

"Rossi and I will head over and see if we can find her. Keep working with Kevin to find this woman," Hotch said.

(xxxxx)

Derek was flipping through one of the books on Spencer's desk when his phone rang. He called for Emily, who emerged from the bedroom.

"Yea, go ahead," Derek said putting the phone on speaker.

"Lacy Meyer is an alias. Hotch and I are on our way to her address, 1185 Weston St. Meet us there," Rossi said.

Derek and Emily were already running out the door. They climbed into the car and started speeding off toward Weston St, when Derek noticed something. He glanced in his review mirror and furrowed his brow.

"Check out this jackass," he said as he watched an SUV speeding down the street behind them.

Emily turned to peer over the seat.

"He's not changing lanes," she said as her heart started racing.

Before they could respond, the SUV slammed into the back of their SUV, sending them spinning and flipping over.

(xxxxx)

Spencer had started sweating from the pain in his leg. He felt nauseous and faint. He let his head dip down, his chin resting on his chest. He heard a door open and looked up to see Lacy and some guy all in black. He was carrying someone. No not someone, it was Emily!

He tried to pull out of the cuffs as Emily was placed onto a metal chair and chained to it. She was unconscious. Her face was covered in little cuts as were her hands. Her ponytail swung lifelessly over her shoulder.

"Emily!" Spencer shouted. "Emily! Let her go!"

Lacy handed the man something that he took and left the room.

"I told you I have connections. You should've listened to me. Now, the fun begins," she said grinning.

(xxxxx)

The team entered the apartment with a kick to the door. They stepped inside using their flashlights and holding their guns out in front of them. Once the small apartment was cleared, Rossi flipped on a light switch.

"Well this just took a turn," Rossi said as he stared at the rows of pictures adorning the living room wall.

"Call J.J. immediately," Hotch stated.

Rossi put the phone to his ear and waited for her to answer.

"Hey, we know why Lacy has been after Reid," he said.


	14. Chapter 14

_Nearing the end. I already have my next story in mind and it's a lot lighter than this one lol. That's the plan anyway._

 _As always, thanks for the comments!_

 _(xxxxx)_

"Cat Adams?" J.J. said in disbelief.

"Yes, she has loads of photos of the two of them together. She also has many of Reid. She's been following him for some time and she basically spells out how she plans to destroy him," Rossi said.

"So, they were lovers and this has turned personal. Which means that Emily is in danger too," J.J. said looking at Luke and Kevin with fear.

"She and Morgan are on their way over here. We'll watch out for her and get her back to the office," Rossi said.

"Alright, we'll be in touch," J.J. said before hanging up. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

"We need to see who's tried to visit her at the prison," Luke said.

Kevin immediately began typing.

(xxxxx)

Hotch's phone rang, he furrowed his brow at the caller ID.

"Savannah? Is everything alright?" he asked. "Wait, what about Emily? …. Alright, thank you, one of us will be there." He hung up and turned to Rossi who was watching him with curiosity. "Morgan's just been brought into the emergency room. He was in a car accident. Emily was not with him."

"Son of a bitch. She got her," Rossi said deflating at the news.

"We need to get back to the office," Hotch said as he took pictures of everything on the wall.

(xxxxx)

"This is like looking for a needle in a haystack!" Kevin complained as he continued to turn up empty.

"A needle in a pile of needles, as Spence would say," J.J. said frowning.

"My sweet, super heroes, when looking for needles, you must have the queen."

They all turned to the entryway to find Penelope smiling at them. She had crutches that she managed to deck out and make Garcia-like.

"You should be resting," Luke said stepping toward her.

"Not when my babies are in trouble," she said moving forward. "Kevin, you better not have messed up my desk!" She said as she reached him.

"No, Penelope, I know better than that. All is as it was," he said smiling at her.

"Good, then scoot, I need my thrown. This queen bee has some honey to find," she said sitting down.

Luke walked up behind her and took her crutches, moving them to the side. He smiled as he watched her tapping away at her keyboard.

"Were you released or did you release yourself?" Luke asked.

"Let's just say that the nurses shouldn't leave computers in my room unattended," she grinned.

"If I wasn't so happy to see you, I would be really mad at you," Luke said.

"Oh, newb, you're happy to see me?" she asked as she typed with super human speed.

"Don't let your head get big now. This room barely holds your personality," he teased as he lightly pinched her arm playfully.

"You two dating?" Kevin asked looking at them.

"No!" they both said looking at him.

"Oh, you seem like it," he said shrugging his shoulders.

J.J. held back her laugh as Penelope went back to typing and Luke backed away as if he found something else more important to look at.

"Bingo was her name-o. Looks like an Alyson Lacey tried to visit Cat every day for the first three months of her imprisonment. Despite the fact, that Cat was under strict lockdown," Penelope stated. "After that she started visiting a Kelly Nicholas."

"Probably her way of communicating with Cat," J.J. stated.

"Can you find an address of where Alyson lived?" Luke asked.

"Can I … can I find? Did you just ask me that?" she said rolling her eyes. "I just sent it to your phones. Such a newb," she joked again.

"You sure you're not dating?" Kevin asked again.

Penelope shot him a dirty look and he held his hands up in submission. Luke and J.J. had already left the room, calling Hotch on the way.

(xxxxx)

Emily slowly came out of unconsciousness. She moaned at the pain coursing through her body. She could hear someone calling her name, but when she tried to move she couldn't. Finally, her hearing cleared enough that she could tell it was Spencer.

"Spe … nce," she said weakly.

"Emily!" Spencer called to her.

She opened her eyes more as her vision came back. She saw Spencer sitting up against a wall, but she still couldn't comprehend what was going on. She let out a scream when ice cold water suddenly spilled all over her. Her eyes popped open as she shivered and spit water from her mouth.

"Emily, so glad you could join us," Lacy said coming into view.

Now Emily was awake enough to see that Spencer was chained to the wall and she was chained to a chair. They were in a basement somewhere. Lacy was walking in front of her with a smile on her face.

"Please let her go," Spencer begged from his spot on the floor.

"Ok, I will let her go. If you let my girlfriend go," she said turning to Spencer.

"If she was sent to prison it was for a reason," he responded.

"Yes, she was sent for a reason Spencer. She was sent to prison because of you!" she yelled at him.

"I'll try to get you visits," he tried.

Lacy burst out laughing.

"If you think I'm going to believe you, you are insane. I know how you lie to get what you want. You lied to her about her father and you lied to me about loving me. If you loved me, you wouldn't have been having sex with her," Lacy said pointing at Emily over her shoulder. "I don't really care that you don't love me though. I never loved you either. Loathe you, yes. Love you, no."

Spencer seemed to be taking in the information that Lacy let out. He looked up at her.

"Cat," he said.

"Took you long enough. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. You made it real easy to befriend you," Lacy stated as she walked over to the table. "So, now we are going to play a little game. Since you like to play games."

Spencer tried desperately to get out of his cuffs.

"I'm going to count the number of days I've spent without my love. For every day, Emily here will receive a lovely small prize. For every month, she will receive a medium prize, and the best part, when we hit a year she'll receive a grand prize. Let's begin, shall we?"

"Please kill me! Take me! I did this to you, not Emily! Kill me!" he begged as Emily watched in shock.

"While that would be incredibly satisfying, I think I'll start with Emily. Watching her slowly die will be more rewarding," Lacy smirked evilly. "But don't worry, I'll kill you eventually too. I'll just let you soak up the days without her first."

Spencer screamed for her to stop, but she stepped up to Emily, who tried to move. She lifted Emily's left leg and used the knife to cut through the fabric, exposing her bare skin.

"Emily, look at me! Stay with me!" Spencer said as he tried to break free.

Emily let out a whimper as Lacy began counting and cutting her leg with the knife. Each number called, the blade was dragged across her skin. Little slices of skin dripped blood down Emily's leg as she tried not to make a sound. She didn't want to give Lacy the satisfaction. She reached one month.

"Congratulations Emily! Your first medium prize!" Lacy said happily as she pulled the knife back and slammed it into her stomach.

Emily howled as Spencer screamed no at the top of his lungs. Tears were streaming down his face as he watched Emily's eyes roll back at the pain. She looked at him with weak eyes. Blood dripped down her lip. She took a deep breath and spit a wad of blood onto Lacy, who shrieked in surprise and disgust.

"You bitch!" she yelled as she slammed the knife into her thigh.

Emily shouted out in pain again. Lacy stood up to go clean off her face tossing the knife down on the table. She grabbed a rag nearby and began wiping at her face. Spencer could feel the skin breaking around his wrists as he continued to try and tug out of the cuffs. Emily was looking at him with tears streaming silently down her cheeks.

Her eyes were heavy and she felt herself growing weaker. Spencer went to talk to her, when he saw feet on the stairs. He immediately recognized Derek's boots.

"You can keep hurting us, but nothing will bring Cat back to you," Spencer said, hoping to distract her from Emily and the team coming down the stairs.

Lacy turned toward Spencer and stalked slowly toward him with the knife back in her hand. She kneeled down in front of him and glared at his angry brown eyes.

"At this point, all I care about is making you suffer. I know I'll never see her again, but at least I'll get to watch you and your girlfriend die," she growled.

"Alyson, drop the knife and step away," Hotch said, not even startling her.

Spencer and Lacy stared one another down. A small hint of smile hit Spencer's lips at their victory. Lacy slowly smiled too before she dove forward and plunged the knife straight into Spencer. There was a flurry of activity as Spencer's eye sight blurred. He could make out shapes around him, but nothing seemed to explain what was happening.

He heard voices all around him, but it reminded him of the Peanuts characters when the adults talked. Nothing made sense. It was just a bunch of wah-wah-wah. Slowly the room faded and Spencer lost consciousness. The last word he uttered was a faint, "Emily."


	15. Chapter 15

_I think this is the last chapter. I like how it ended, I considered doing a skip to like 5 years later, but I don't know if I want to do that or not._

 _Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer's eyes popped open and he immediately sat up looking around the room. He frantically tried to catch his bearings as he looked for Emily. He felt pain radiating through his stomach as he tried to jump out of the bed.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy pretty Ricky!" a voice said pushing him back down.

"Emily, I need to get to Emily. She's in trouble," he said as Derek tried to hold him still.

"Reid, look at me. Look at me!" he said gaining Spencer's attention. "Emily is fine. She's in recovery and so are you. That means you need to lay back down and quit squirming."

Spencer looked around the room again, finally taking in the sights around him. He saw the heart monitor, multiple cords attached to his arm and hand. He was in a hospital. They had been rescued. He remembered now.

"Lacy?" he asked looking back at Derek.

"She's dead. Hotch shot her," Derek replied without further detail.

"Can I see Emily?" Spencer said trying to sit up again.

Derek pushed him back down.

"Reid, quit moving around or I'm going to have to get them to restrain you. Look, you already popped some of your stitches," Derek said pointing to the blood pooling around his hospital gown.

Derek pressed the button on the side of the hospital bed.

"Can I help you?" came a voice from the bedside speaker.

"Can we get a nurse, please. He's popped a few stitches," Derek said.

"I'll send someone in, sir," the voice responded.

Spencer frowned and laid his head back on the pillow.

"Emily is fine. She's already argued with the nurse about being left alone. She's her normal, feisty-self," Derek said with a smile.

Spencer closed his eyes and sighed in part relief and part frustration. He was happy she was alright, but he was upset they were trapped in this hospital. He needed to see her. He needed to hold her and kiss her and tell her how sorry he was.

"Hey, it won't be that long. You'll see her soon," Derek said misinterpreting his distress.

"She wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me. I should've never trusted Lacy," Spencer said angrily.

"We all trusted her," Derek began, but the door opened and nurse rushed in.

"Dr. Reid, are you getting all riled up in here?" the nurse scolded sweetly.

She pulled her cart close to him, had him take his top half off, and began undoing the gauze wrapped around his mid-section. He laid back down as blood streamed from his wound. The nurse began stitching and cleaning him up.

After she was finished, they rewrapped his wound and she tucked him back into the bed.

"Now, stay still. No more unnecessary moving. Let that wound heal," she said pointing her finger at him.

Spencer nodded and she gave him a small smile as she wheeled her cart out of the room. He pressed the recliner button and let the bed lay him flatter on the bed.

"It's not your fault," Derek said softly. He knew that's what was bothering Spencer. He could see it in his eyes.

"Please, leave me alone," he said as he shut his eyes.

"Reid," Derek started, but decided against it.

He knew right now there was no consoling him. The best thing he could do was let him be. Once he was reunited with Emily, everything would be better.

(xxxxx)

Three days later, Spencer was finally given permission to go home. He had strict relaxation orders and a regimen of non-narcotic medications to help with the healing process. The team was worried about him though. He hadn't spoken much since Derek's last conversation with him.

He spent most of the time staring out the window or mindlessly watching the clock tick by. He never held a conversation with any of his visitors. They even brought Henry and Michael by to see if that would help.

He smiled at them and listened to them talk with a smile on his face, but the second they were gone his smile dropped and he returned to silence. The day he was released, he even refused to visit Emily. J.J. and Penelope tried to tell him that she asked to see him constantly, but he said she was better without him.

Spencer even asked Hotch to drive him home because he knew that despite wanting to help and intervene, Hotch wouldn't force him to talk. He would allow Spencer to stare out the window without trying to engage him in small talk.

He was surprised, however, when they pulled up to his apartment and Hotch began talking to him.

"Reid," he said turning to look at the young agent.

Spencer raised an eyebrow at him in question.

"Emily has been raised to detach herself from life. She doesn't have a house, because she's able to leave at any moment. She doesn't get affected by cases the way most do, because she views it strictly as job. Everything in her life is disposable. It's her way of protecting her heart."

Spencer frowned as he listened to the truth of what Hotch was saying. Emily never held on to anything. She was always able to function without emotions. It's why she never had a steady boyfriend. They were all just there to settle a need in her biologically. When that was satisfied, she moved on.

"There is one exception to this. There is one thing that has found its way through her armor and wrapped itself tightly around her," Hotch said looking at a puzzled Spencer.

"What is that?" he asked furrowing his brow.

"You, Reid," Hotch replied.

"Me?"

"I've known Emily a long time now and I've seen her in every possible situation. I've seen her stone faced in some of the most difficult cases that gave me nightmares. I've seen her go through her days, almost robotic because she trusted no one.

Somehow, you found a way past the walls and she placed her faith in you. She let her guard down with you and allowed herself to love you," Hotch said.

"She shouldn't have. I don't deserve her. I chose Lacy over her and look what that did to us both? I'm an idiot and she should stay far away from me," Spencer said starting to feel overwhelmed with guilt.

"Let me ask you something," Hotch said. "Is it my fault what happened to Haley?"

Spencer's head snapped up in surprise. "What? No, of course not!" He said appalled at the thought.

"But, I should have stopped Foyet. I didn't get to her in time. I left her alone with an agent, rather than protect her myself. If I had quit my job when Haley asked me, she'd still be alive," Hotch said looking Spencer in the eyes.

"No, you didn't know," Spencer trailed off as it all sunk in.

"We deal with a lot of shit Reid. Let's face it, when it comes to tragic stories, our team takes the cake. It's part of the life we agreed to when we joined the FBI. That doesn't mean we don't try for happiness. I can't guarantee that tomorrow I don't die, but at least when I die I know I tried to be happy.

Emily is your happiness and I know for a fact, that you are hers. Do not throw this time you have with her away because you are too busy beating yourself up. Seize the day and enjoy it while you can. Don't live with regrets," Hotch said.

Spencer stared at his knees and nodded his head. He would think about everything Hotch said the rest of the night and the rest of the week, until he saw Emily again.

(xxxxx)

Emily had only been home a few hours. She was exhausted from the lack of sleep. Every time she dozed off one of those damn nurses would come in poking and prodding at her. She got so frustrated one night, that she slid a chair in front of the door to keep them out.

She forgot all about the connected bathroom. They were not happy with her and she received a good scolding for that. She also lost the chairs in the room and any other items they thought she might use to lock them out.

After her first warm shower in over a week, she slipped into her nightgown and pulled her hair up into a wet bun. She had just placed a pot of tea on the stove when she heard a knock at the door. She wandered over and pulled the door open.

"Spencer," she said surprised to see him. She momentarily forgot she was angry at him for not visiting.

"May I come in?" he asked shyly.

"I should say no," she said frowning, but she stepped aside and gestured for him to enter.

He walked through the door and followed her to the kitchen. She grabbed a tea cup from the cabinet and turned to him.

"I'm having some tea, would you like a cup?" she asked.

"No, um, I'm good. Thank you though," he said fidgeting with a thread on his sleeve cuff.

"Suit yourself," she said before pouring herself a cup. "How are you feeling?"

"Ok, still hurts a bit when I walk and I have to be careful not to stretch, but overall I'm alright," he replied. "How about you?"

His eyes drifted to her legs, where he saw the multiple scabbed slice marks. His stomach churned and his heart ached.

"Surprisingly well. I'm sore, obviously, but a lot like you," she said taking a sip of her tea.

She walked past him into the living room, where she sat down on the couch. Spencer followed closely behind.

"So, what do you want?" she asked with a hint of irritation.

"I came to apologize for not visiting you in the hospital," he said standing in front of the couch.

"Will you sit down. You're making me anxious," she said taking a sip of her tea.

Spencer slowly sat down next to her. He rubbed his knees nervously.

"Emily, I know you are angry with me and I can't say I blame you. The thing is, I … I don't deserve you. You were run through mud trying to be with me and in the end, all it got was …" he choked up as he looked at her legs again.

Emily's face softened and she placed her cup down on the table. She scooted closer to him.

"I … she … she hurt you and it was because of me. I brought her into your life and she targeted you because of me. I couldn't protect you. That's what a boyfriend is supposed to do. To protect his love and I only put you in danger and I'm sorry. I am so sorry," he said as his eyes filled with tears.

Spencer felt Emily's hands on his cheeks and they roughly turned his face toward hers. She had fire in her eyes, which he wasn't expecting.

"Spencer, knock it off! I don't blame you for anything that has happened. Do I wish we could go back and do things differently? Yes, but we can't. All we can do is move forward and I'll be damned if I didn't go through all that bullshit with you, for you to tell me now that you don't want me," she said angrily.

"What? No, Emily, I want you. I want you so bad that it hurts, but –"

"No, buts Spencer. What happened is over. There is no changing the past. You have two choices now. You either sulk about what happened and push me away, or you accept the past is the past and pull me close," she said.

Spencer seemed to think this over as she brushed a stray hair from his eyes.

"Your hair is getting long again," she said as she tucked another piece behind his ear.

"I know, I look like a girl," he said, remembering Lacy' s comment.

"What? Who said that … oh, let me guess, Lacy? Spencer, you look gorgeous no matter how long or short your hair is. No matter what clothing you wear. You are so beautiful inside and out that no style can ever change that."

A smile crossed his lips as he blushed at her statement.

"Look, I'm exhausted. I just want to sleep. Why don't you stay with me tonight and we can talk more tomorrow?" she said standing up.

Spencer hesitated a moment, but took her outstretched hand and stood up.

"Alright," he said softly.

As they headed toward the bedroom, Spencer stopped in his tracks causing Emily to stop and turn.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Yes, um, just one thing before we go to bed," he said.

"What's that?" Emily asked.

Spencer stepped forward and pressed his lips against hers. There was no resistance or hesitation from Emily. She seemed to melt into his kiss immediately. They slowly tasted one another until they had to break apart to catch their breath.

"I cannot wait until these wounds are healed," Emily said, making Spencer chuckle.

"Me neither. For now, let's just stay as close as we can without hurting one another," he responded.

"Oh, that sounds so romantic," Emily joked.

"It's the best I can offer right now," Spencer said as he followed her to the bedroom.

"And I am happy to accept that offer. Knowing I have you with me, is enough," she said as they slid under the covers.

"Emily," Spencer said once they found their comfy positions.

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Their fingers intertwined and soon they both fell asleep.


	16. Chapter 16

_I had some requests to do the 5-year update. I hope you enjoy this ending! My new story is already in the works! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

5 Years Later

Emily stood with her back to a wall. Her gun was in her hand, clutched against her chest.

"He's headed down the west corridor," Derek's voice rang in her ear.

"Got it," she called.

With that Emily took off at a run down the south hallway, hoping to catch the unsub. As her feet pounded the concrete floors, she saw the unsub appear.

"Freeze!" she shouted, but the unsub fired a shot at her and ran into the stairwell. "He just entered the southwest stairwell, level 5. Be careful, shots are being fired!"

There were multiple confirmations as Emily pushed the door to the stairwell in. She peered down the stairs and then up. Suddenly the unsub appeared and fired at her again.

"Son of a bitch, stop shooting at me!" she growled as she ran up the stairs, skipping every other step.

Her black boots were hitting the metal stairs heavily. She could hear a door open above her. Seconds later, she reached the top floor. Bursting out of it with her gun raised, she surveyed the area around her. It was difficult to see in the darkness. Emily moved slowly across the graveled rooftop trying to find where the unsub was hiding.

As she neared a row of pipes, she heard a shot ring out. Thankfully this guy seemed to be awful with his aim. It zipped by her, but narrowly missed, putting a small tear in her black jacket. The man appeared holding his gun out toward Emily.

"Put your gun down," the man said.

Emily stared the man down, still aiming her gun at him.

"I said put it down or I'll shoot you!" the man screamed.

Emily stood still for a moment, but slowly lifted her arms in surrender and began to slowly lower her weapon. With that, the sound of gunfire rang out. The man collapsed onto the ground, Spencer standing directly behind him with a smoking revolver.

"You alright?" he asked as he kicked the gun away from the unsub.

"Physically yes, fashionably no. He shot a hole in my favorite jacket," Emily pouted as she picked at the torn material.

Spencer chuckled. "I'll buy you a new one," he said.

"I've had this one for 8 years. It's broken in and loved. I can't just replace it. That would be like replacing you," she said teasingly.

"Wow, so I'm being compared to a jacket?" he said stepping closer to her.

"I'm not going to lie, this was a pretty special jacket," she said jovially.

He smirked at her as he rolled his eyes.

"Come on, let's go finish so we can go home," he said as they walked off together.

(xxxxx)

It was a little after 9:30am when the team strolled into the office. They were tired, despite the rest they had on the plane. All of them headed straight for their desks and sat down, sighing in relief and exhaustion.

Not ten minutes, into getting comfortable, Will arrived to pick up J.J. Henry was the first to run in, Michael close behind, and a wobbly-legged toddler was in the back. Her dark brown hair and chocolate eyes lit up.

"Dah dah," she squealed as she tried to hurry her pace.

Spencer slid from his chair to his knees and held open his arms. She dove into them and he scooped her up, attacking her with kisses. The little girl giggled as he smooched all over her face.

"How is my bug-bug today?" he asked smiling at her.

"Bug-bug," she repeated as she played with his hair.

"What about mommy?" Emily said pretending to pout.

"No," the little girl said shaking her head.

Everyone laughed and Emily's jaw dropped.

"What? I gave birth to you, traitor," she giggled as she walked over and began to tickle her.

The little girl laughed and wiggled in Spencer's arms, before Emily placed a big kiss on her cheek.

Spencer looked over at Will as he handed the toddler off to Emily.

"I take it, she was well behaved?" he said.

"Charlotte is never a problem. It's those two animals I have to watch out for," Will said as he pointed to Henry and Michael.

Henry had Michael in a headlock and was giving him a noogie. At the sound of their dad's voice, both boys looked at him.

"I helped feed her Uncle Spence," Michael said, his hair wild from Henry.

"I taught her to say butt," Henry giggled, which made Michael burst into a fit of laughter.

"Butt! Butt! Butt!" Charlotte started chanting.

"Henry!" J.J. and Will scolded.

Spencer had to conceal his laughter. Emily backhanded his chest and gave him a look.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road. Momma needs a bath and a nap," Emily said looking at Charlotte in her arms.

"No, nap," Charlotte frowned.

"Yes, nap," Emily nodded.

"No," Charlotte said shaking her head furiously.

"How about Mommy naps and I take Charlie to the park," Spencer said reaching out for his daughter.

"A nap and a quiet house? Oh, baby I just might reward you for that later," she whispered as she gave Spencer a quick kiss.

Spencer wiggled his eyebrows at her making her laugh.

"Come on, goofball," she said as they said their goodbyes to the team.

As they climbed on the elevator, Spencer looked at Emily and smiled. She felt him staring and looked at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Sometimes I get this overwhelming feeling of happiness. I look at you and I can't believe that you are my wife. That we have a family together. All these years we rode this elevator together, I never thought that one day we would be riding it with our child.

Not a day goes by that I don't thank God that I have you and Charlotte in my life. I can't imagine not waking up to your beautiful face every day. I love you so much, Emily."

Emily smiled and pressed her lips to his.

"I am grateful every day for you as well. You are my best friend and the most wonderful husband and father in the world. I love you so much too," she kissed him again. "Maybe, Charlotte could play in her playpen for a bit. I think Mommy wants to go the playground first," she whispered with a devilish grin on her face.

"It will be almost 10:30, by the time we get home. Elmo would be more than willing to entertain her for a bit," he said huskily.

"It's a date then," she said as the doors to the elevator opened.

"Can't wait," he grinned.

They walked off hand in hand. Beaming with love.


End file.
